Always Four
by jose.gonzales.2005
Summary: There he was. He had slain Absalom and was falling into the Well. He didn't know what would happen next. Will he die, will he live, will it be dark, will it be peaceful? What happened next shocked him, for Death's journey was not ended.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Remnant of Earth

There he stood at the Well of Souls, with doubt in his mind. He had come so far for the sake of his brother, but he could revive the rest of his kind and rid his mind and spirit of his burden. But he knew he must come to accept his decision and live with it. "My brother War… I would protect him above all." He looked down at the Crowfather, awaiting his response. "To return man to the Earth will require a sacrifice." Said the soul manifestation of the old man, as he referred to the fragments of the amulet lodged in Death's chest. Death walked up to the edge, one knee above the other, and began to remove his mask he had donned all those centuries ago. As he handed the Crowfather his mask, he stepped fully onto the edge, leaned in, and fell into the Well of Souls, without anyone seeing his face. The Crowfather handed Dust the mask, "Take it to him." Was all he said.

* * *

Death found himself in a dense forest, unsure of what happened. He remembered falling into the Well of Souls, and presumably restored humanity. So what did he do wrong? He looked down at his chest, and noticed the fragments of the Nephilim's souls were missing. Whatever he did, he exchanged the souls, and found himself asking the same question as before. Where ever he was now, he had to find a way back to familiar territory. It was then that something familiar appeared. It was Dust, and he was carrying his mask. He gladly took his mask from the bird, and once again donned his mask of the Kinslayer.

He looked around the forest, hoping to find any forms of civilization or perhaps a path. This world felt similar to Earth, and certainly looked the part, but something was off, something he couldn't explain. Upon closer inspection, he saw small cracks of grey beyond the trees. He could tell it was likely a stone wall, or some form of structure. Regardless, knowing it was his only lead to finding any form of assistance, he began to approach the wall.

Upon arriving at the structure, he saw there was a semicircle shaped entrance as well as a path not so far down, and walked along the wall towards it. He looked through the door frame, expecting to see a settlement in the form of a town. He also noticed there were sounds of movement, and fast at that. Both of his suspicions were confirmed, and what he saw shocked him. The town was for the most part abandoned, with the exception of six individuals. Not only were they all human, but one of them had a scorpion tail lodged into the chest of what looked to be the only other adult of the group. Death considered reaching for his scythes, but wanted to see how this panned out. If he wasn't shocked enough, a girl, a young one at that, in a slightly tattered red cloak, quickly pulled out a giant scythe, not too much smaller than his own, wrapped it around the scorpion tail, and caused some form of loud blast, supposedly a gun, and cut part of the tail off. "You bitch!" the man with the tail said, followed by grunts of pain. The other half of the humans approached the man, all in defensive stances. The man mumbled something under his breath and fled from the area. At this Death decided it was enough, and quickly drew his scythes.

* * *

Qrow dropped to the ground, grunting in pain. "Uncle Qrow, are you okay?" Ruby worriedly said, as she quickly kneeled down to aid her uncle. "I'll be fine. He just grazed me." Replied the raggedy man. Then bad things turned worse, as the group all turned around at the sound of what they all recognized as the unsheathing of a blade. What they all saw gave them all mixed emotions. On one hand he was dressed weirdly, even for their standards of normal. But by the looks of him, they could tell he spelled bad news. He wore well-worn battle armor all along his legs, as well as on his forearms, but most of his chest was bare, and incredibly pale. He wore a mask that resembled a skull, long messy black hair going a little past his shoulders, and was incredibly tall, as well holding two large dual scythes that were about the size of Crescent Rose each, if not larger. But the strangest thing about him were his eyes. They were a deep orange with no pupils. Ruby's eye color was strange, but at least they had pupils. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have pitch black skin and bared weapons, the group would have mistaken him for a grimm. But that only made their case worse. He was definitely experienced, but the chances of him being a huntsman were beyond slim. Ruby stood up, readied Crescent Rose, and took a stance, along with the rest of team RNJR.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked, still trying to rid herself from the adrenaline from her previous encounter. Although she knew she was just going to get worked up again. "If you're here to take Ruby too, we're not going to just comply." Ren stated. "I couldn't care less about your personal lives, and as for who I am, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Death replied in a harsh tone as he tightened his grip on his scythes. "Try me." Nora said, speaking in a slightly more serious tone than usual and asserting her stance. Neither remarks eased the tension. The man didn't seem to want to give any straight answer as things went back to dead silent. After a few moments Nora charged in for an attack, knowing someone would have to at some point. "NORA, NO!" Cried Ren, trying to call her attack off. Death charged in himself, flipping forwards a couple meters before making contact. As he was bringing his body upwards he spun his scythes upwards, now connected at the ends, spinning towards Nora. She was sent flying back, and winced at how much it hurt. As the rest of team RNJR went in for an offensive blow of their own, Death pulled out Redemption, and shot Ren dead center in his forehead. Ren stopped running in and had to recover from the shot. Normally a single bullet from anything that isn't a rifle wouldn't hurt so much, but this wasn't a normal gun, or bullet. Jaune went in for a slash while Ruby anchored Crescent Rose into the ground, and supported him by firing her sniper-scythe from afar. Death was now constantly getting hit by a sharp pain that he'd rather not have to fight under, but was perfectly okay with sucking up a little of pain. Jaune brought Corcea Mors down in attempt to slash Death, but Death lunged to the left of him. As the Jaune's missed strike reached the concrete, Death lunged back at him, brought both scythes over Jaune's shield, and pried it off hi harm and onto the ground. While Jaune was left with no real defense, Death kicked him up into the air, grabbed the fallen shield, jumped into the air to join Jaune, and brought the shield down on the stunned blonde, sending him plummeting to the ground. When Jaune cratered into the concrete, Death once again slammed his own shield down on his own head, putting him down for the count.

Before Death could notice Ruby had used her speed to get the drop on him. By now Nora and Ren had recovered and were eager to get back in the fight. Ren helped Ruby in close combat while Nora pelted the pale man with grenades. Ruby engaged in melee combat while Ren did his best to keep his movement random while he shoots Death with Stormflower. Death dodged and countered most of Ruby's blows and tried to keep moving to avoid fire from Nora, but would slip up every now and then. Death lunged at Ren, buried his scythes in his shoulders, rolled over him, grabbed the handles of both scythes and brought them up and over his body, slamming Ren down. While he was still stunned Death brought the back of his heel down on Ren's face. Ruby tried to slash at Death again using her speed, but he countered by teleporting over to her while she was still bundled up in her cloak and grabbed her neck. While she was caught in his grip she tried to grab Crescent Rose which rested on her lower back. But before she could get a hold of her dearest weapon Death shot her once in the head and let her drop to the ground. He was about to deal with the girl dressed in pink and white when he realized Ren was already recovering, and Ruby wasn't far behind. Before they could hit him, Death snatched two of Nora's grenades from out of the air, and quickly threw one at Ruby, and the other at Ren, knocking them both down again. Nora gritted her teeth. The front of her launcher dropped down as all of the explosives in the magazine flew towards Death, who picked up Ruby and threw her towards the grenades, which subsequently detonated, and created a large pink cloud of smoke.

Death could tell this fight was almost over. There was just one thing wrong with this picture. The man with short black hair was missing, and Death had a guess where he was. Qrow was in no shape to fight, but still tried to get the drop on the pale man from behind. Qrow lifted up his large broad sword, and began to slash his opponent as quietly as he could. But without turning around, Death used one of his scythes to make the gash in the raggedy man's chest longer and deeper. Death looked down at Qrow, who was struggling to stand up "Stand down, this fight is over." Death said. "Not quite." Was his only response as he dodged out of the way. A gunshot was heard, and Death turned around to see its source. While Death was taking care of Qrow, Ruby had just enough energy to pull off the move she and Nora used to destroy the Geist near the town they visited not too long ago. She shot Nora with a bullet laced with electricity dust, and used her speed to propel the two of them forward. It was all or nothing. Death looked at the whirlwind of red and pink and admitted if he was hit by it he wouldn't be left in great shape to keep fighting, especially in a two on one scenario. But he wasn't going to stand still in awe. He dodged in the opposite direction and used his evade counter. Ruby and Nora weren't sure if what they saw was real, they were spinning in a helix formation, but they could have sworn they just saw what could only be described as the Grim Reaper. It was then that this monstrous being sliced upwards onto the two girls, and vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

"Who are you?" Was all Ruby could squeeze out. "Death." Replied the pale man as he sounded like a whisper in the wind to the Rose that was passing out, along with the rest of her team. "So, the Grim Reaper came to pay a little girl and her drunk uncle a visit huh? It's truly a weird world we live in." Said the Wounded man lying back on a house wall, also about to pass out. "Just be happy I went easy on you lot. I'd actually prefer you all alive. I have a few questions. And I'm more than certain you have a few answers." Was all he said before the man fell unconscious, along with the four kids.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Your Favorite Fairy Tale

It was dark when Ruby awoke, and she was having trouble remembering the last thing that happened. She looked around to see that Qrow, who was now bandaged up, with Ren, Nora, Jaune and herself now all in a forest near a path. They were all sitting next to a campfire. And that's when it came back to her. She saw the pale man on the other side of the path, arms crossed, and leaning on a tree. She reached for Crescent Rose when Qrow grabbed her arm from fully extending. "Calm down, he's not gonna hurt us." He said, easing the grip on her weapon, but she still remained skeptical. "So. You're uhhh, Death. That's uhh…" Jaune thought that this man was either trying too hard to be cool or was insane, but his appearance and skill sure backed him up. "We have a lot of catching up to do, especially with the Reaper over there." Qrow stated. "Well, where do we start?" Nora asked. "What's your favorite fairy tale?" Was his response.

* * *

"So yeah, there's that." Qrow said, concluding his explanation. "'Her' you mean Salem?" Ruby replied after a long pause. "That's right. Not much is known about her, and quite frankly that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the Relics. If she gets them, it's not going to end well." Qrow confirmed. "So, a woman named after a Jewish influenced town is looking for means of great power through the form of artifacts. Good to see things never changes." With a sarcastic tone said the man in the back, who had remained silent up till this point. "I'm sorry what are doing here? I'm pretty sure you know that the people you pummeled aren't exactly going to have a good impression on you." Jaune said still in an aggressive tone. Still on edge after obtaining this knew information.

"Watch that tongue of yours boy." Death replied, slightly elevating his voice. "Wait. You said something about Salem being named after a religious town." Qrow said still stunned that the pale man recognized the name of their big bad. "Just who exactly are you 'Death'?" He questioned the Reaper. There was a pause. "Okay right then. That's what I'll do. I will tell you a story." Was his response.

"Before time was born, bright kingdom was created for the angels, a dark realm for the demons. And a world for mankind. These two brothers aren't entirely who they say they are. From the sound of it, these siblings are what this Ozpin used as stand ins for the Creator an Destroyer. The Creator formed man, and gave them the gift of free will. And ever since the Destroyer and his spawn have been tainting them, and when the End War comes, kill them. Not only that, but the two were never blood related. That's where Ozpin was wrong. Salem is a Jewish influenced town, and is heavily associated with Jerusalem. A city of the Creators prophets." "So why haven't we ever heard of these cities?" Asked Ren. "Because this is no longer Earth, or at least no anymore." He had narrowed it down. Whatever this world is now, it was the aftermath of the End War. Explaining why it was so similar to Earth, as well as housing humans and grimm. It also explains the close detail and human religious customs.

"What do you mean 'Earth'?" Qrow asked, having a bad feeling about what he was going to say next. "Eden, also referred to as 'Earth' was the world gifted to humanity by the Creator. The End War was to be the battlefield for Heaven and Hell, but humanity had to be prepared. That was my task, as well as my brethren's." The group had an idea what he was going to say next, and to an extent, they all felt a little sick. "I had missed the bringing of the apocalypse, for it was brought early. My brother War had wrongfully ben accused, and was sentenced to rot in oblivion. In an effort to spare him, I had set out to rebirth humanity. This," Death approached the group, getting closer to the fire. "is the result." It was a lot to take in for the group. It was then Ruby spoke. "You said you had a Brother, and brethren. So, if you're not human, what are you?" Ruby asked, still wondering where he fits in with all of this.

Death loathed bringing up such a painful memory, especially just after everything he went through with Absalom. But they had to know, if he ever wanted to get back to his time. "My kind, were known as the Nephilim, a race born out of the essence of Angels and Demons. We were meant to be the perfect warriors. We were to take Eden from humanity, but the Charred Council, a force in charge of keeping the balance between all living things, deemed the Nephilim as a threat. From then me, my two younger brothers and sister were sought by the council. We were gifted incredible power, and were set to prepare humanity for the End War. But before we were granted this power, we must first exterminate the rest of my kind. That day we rode, and from the beginning I knew this would weigh on the minds of my brothers and sister. So, from there on I led the slaughter alone. I killed them, every last one." Death gave the group around the fire a few moments to let the story sink in. Everyone there remembered Pyrrha's death, and how devastated they all were. Especially Ruby. The young rose remembered watching the arrow fly into the red heads chest, and how she felt. She couldn't even begin to fathom what this man has been through.

After seeing that the group has taken in the information, Death decided to continue with his story. "I annihilated their flesh, but I stored their souls in an amulet. I had given it to a man who would safeguard it from the worlds above. But he couldn't handle the tormenting voices, and betrayed me, engraving fragments of their souls in my chest. From there I sought out the Well of souls, where I would restore humanity. But to do so, would require a sacrifice. In exchange for your souls I surrendered the Nephilim's and my own, as I dove into the Well. Following my choice, I was sent here to Remnant, and was greeted by the likes of you all. That, is my story." "So, if it weren't for you, we'd all be dead right now. Kind of ironic ain't? Death being our savior and all." Qrow said, trying to lighten the mood. He could tell, the team was a little rattled from Death's story, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't too.

Death turned away from the group, and began walking. "Where are you going?" Nora asked, still wrapping her head around everything. "To pass the time. As I can imagine you still have questions, but don't look at me. Last I checked your uncle still has some explaining to do." He didn't plan on sleeping, but didn't want to stand around and wait for the group to wake up. Although he hasn't seen a grimm yet, he planned on finding out. He didn't too far away when he heard a crow or a raven caw, and thought it to be Dust. When he turned to look at it, it wasn't the familiar bird he expected. Instead it had red eyes and was much smaller than Dust. He could tell that whatever it was it was smart, and not too unlike his navigator. After getting out of hearing range, he called upon his own crow, and it appeared with a sudden burst of green light. "Keep an eye on it." He said. Dust understood immediately, and went to a branch of its own to watch the smaller black bird.

* * *

Morning had come, and Death had just gotten to know what he was up against. And quite honestly, wasn't impressed. He arrived in time to see Ruby leaning over her uncle as he mumbled something, and immediately passed out. He saw his wound was bleeding a purple solution, and had coughed some up on his hand. He approached the young rose and took a quick look at the man, he needs a medic, and fast. "Okay, now we really need to get going." Nora said in a worried tone. The group packed up, and started on the trail.

* * *

The team had split up, and Death had decided to accompany Ruby, Jaune, and Qrow. He branched off from the three in Kuroyuri to find medicine or an infirmary. He wasn't having much luck, when he heard an agonizing screech, and it was close. Close enough to be in town. He rushed back to find the others, and thought about summoning Despair. Where he was now he couldn't, the paths were too narrow for his steed. When he reached the source of the screech, he found the team engaging in combat with it, as expected. Ren and Nora seemed to find their way here as well. What they were combating was a grimm, one that looked a lot more challenging than the ones he had fought back in the forest. Its lower half was that of a horse, and where a rider would be stood a torso with a large, horned head, with long lanky arms.

It was in a clearing, just large enough to use Despair. Death began to pick up speed, when a burst of green flames erupted from underneath him, and a pale horse with rotting flesh, and with a mane and tail glowed a bright green flame, appeared underneath him. Despair charged forward, and Death raised his now full scythe in the air, and brought it down on the chest of the grimm. It cried out in agony, but it had somehow healed from its wound near instantly. Everyone in the group looked shocked at how Death summoned a half decomposed flaming horse out of nowhere, but they knew now wasn't the time for questions.

Death pulled back on the reigns and brought Despair to a stop. He looked at the grimm dead in the eyes, as it did the same. Despair charged at the grimm, as it did the same. Picking up speed rapidly, the two propelled forward. Death knew now that timing was going to be everything. Just before the grimm got within 6 meters and the grimm was lifting up its arm for am attack, Despair was swiftly banished, and Death brought his scythe forward, horizontally slicing through the right half of the horse's body. Luckily this wound didn't heal like the attempt before it, scarring the beast

He summoned Despair again, and was about to go for another run, but planned on trying a different attack. Before he could pick up speed, he saw Ren charging at the monstrosity, with seemingly no plan. He could tell something was wrong with him. "Ren! Knock it off!" Jaune shouted. Death has been around long enough to understand what that look in Ren's eye was. Pure unadulterated rage. It wasn't from just this fight alone, that much was obvious. Ren and whatever this specific grimm was, he had a history with it. And not a very good one at that. He knew Ren had to finish it off himself, so he tried supporting him by firing of Redemption at the large grimm. As could be expected Ren's senseless attack only got him hurt and thrown back to where he was before. He saw the grimm about to charge at Ren, and saw that he just stood there, thinking that he'll accomplish something. Death slammed down on the reigns as Despair charged at Ren to get him out of the way. Despair and the grimm raced forwards, but before either could reach Ren, Nora tackled him under a building. Seeing no reason for this race to go on, Death shot a point-blank round from Redemption into the grimm's horned head. While it was stunned for a few spare moments, Death headed back in the direction of Ruby and Jaune, shooting at it with Redemption as it began to follow him.

While Ren and Nora seemed to be having a conversation underneath the building, Ruby, Jaune, and Death pressed on against the grimm. The group looked to see Ren and Nora emerging from underneath the house, and almost instinctively thy grouped up next to them. "Ren," Ruby spoke up. "Jaune and I can take care of its arms." "I'll take care of the horse." Nora Followed up. "An I'll take care of the rest." Ren said, finishing off their plan. Ruby turned to look at the Pale Rider atop his steed. "Death," she said, still feeling uncomfortable saying his name "give it Hell." She said. Death nodded his head, and snapped back Despair's reigns, carrying through with the plan. Ruby maneuvered around the rooftops, and baited out one of the grimm's arms, subsequently pinning it down. Jaune and Ren did a similar move, effectively disabling its other arm. "Nora!" Ren shouted. Nora plummeted from atop a bell tower, and rammed her hammer onto the horse's head. Death charged forward, and used his Death Grip on the grimm's face, from there he leaped off of Despair, who dissipated into a green mist, and landed atop the grimm's back. He slammed his foot onto the grimm's back, and took a tight hold on its two horns, pulling back its head to look Ren directly in the eye as it wailed.

Ren took out the dagger he left in the grimm's side, and held it up. Ren swiftly disposed of the creature's left arm. Not long after he made quick do with its right arm. He followed it up with a swipe at its chest. "For myself." Ren uttered, and finally decapitated the grimm, leaving its dead head in the arms of Death. Almost immediately it dissipated into a black cloud. Nora at blistering speed leaped onto Ren, embracing him with a hug. Ruby meanwhile rushed to see how her uncle was doing.

"Guys! I think I hear something!" Jaune shouted out getting the attention of the rest of the group. Two air ships had arrived, and two people got Qrow onto a proper stretcher, and into one of the ships. "How did you find us out here?" "We were on patrol and we saw the smoke. No one's been out here for years. Thought something might be wrong. Who's your friend?" asked the guy looking at the back of the ship at Death. "Long story, not worth explaining." Jaune replied. "What if we don't make it in time?" Ruby asked, worried for her uncle's well-being. "Ruby." Jaune said in response. She looked up to see the kingdom of Mistral, and felt like it was a sight to behold. "We made it Uncle Qrow." She said, feeling relief wash over her.

* * *

They all arrived at a motel, and got Qrow stabilized. Ruby walked in to see he was lying on one bed, and Death was sitting on the other looking up with his eyes closed, lost in thought. Ruby carefully placed Crescent Rose on the bed Death was sitting on, trying not to disturb him. She went over to a desk, and began to write a letter. A ways through she heard Qrow mumble, and walked over to check on him. "Hey, aren't I normally the one saving you?" He said in a tired, yet comedic fashion. Ruby was tearing up, but whipped them away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw slight movement. The pale man looked over at her, and for a few moments she and Death made eye contact. And without a word he turned his head back, closed his eyes, and continued his thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Little Bird Told me

"And just what exactly do you expect me to do while you stand around and talk?" Death griped at the gruff drunk.

"Well what do you expect me to do? I can't just waltz into a school filled with uneasy children accompanied by a seven foot walking corpse, and explain to them that you're the literal embodiment of Death."

Qrow said as he opened the front door to the house the party was staying in. The rest followed suite behind him as they were heading towards Haven academy to meet the professor, with the exception of the Pale Rider.

"Come to think of it," Qrow started,

"why _are_ you still following us?"

"If what you say is true, then these _relics_ are my best chance of returning to my post, and seeing through that my brother's trial was done justice. Furthermore, leaving the relics with the likes of Salem would only create trouble for everyone. Whether they're involved or not." Death said almost nonchalantly, as if he dealt with these kinds of things every other day. Likely because he did.

"Look, we'll work out a game plan when we get back. There's a lot going on as of now and we've got to make sure we know what we're doing. The kids will be back in an hour or two, I might be a little longer. We've got to talk to the headmaster of Haven. There's a training room with a porch overlooking a cliff side, you can practice out there until we get back." Qrow said as he and the teens left to the academy, leaving Death in solitude.

The Horseman groaned in annoyance, not taking a liking to being cooped up in a human's house, incapable of doing anything of worth. He wondered around the the house, looking for the cliff side porch Qrow told him about.

He walked aimlessly around the premise, taking mental notes of what is where. Looking around he saw that the place had luxuries he had never had the time to experience. He understood the concept of luxury, but the thought of what most would consider 'relaxing' made him anxious. If he ever partook in such things he feared that he would lose his edge; which he was never going to let happen.

Eventually he found the room down a set of stairs. The training room itself looked like it would serve its purpose well, but as Death slid open the sliding doors, revealing the cliff side, it was a no brainer that he'd prefer to train outside.

The view was decent, but the upside to training outside was that the breeze would cool him off if he were to work up a sweat. Neither the training room nor the cliff side have a large wooden post the same way Thane's did, but it hardly bothered the Reaper.

Death drew his scythes in a reverse grip, leaving the blades behind his back as he envisioned his enemies around him, in this case grimm. He pretended as if a beowolf foolishly charged at him from the front, it's right paw raised to strike. To which he leaped backwards as the ghostly purple figure of his Reaper form appeared in front of him, swiftly slicing upwards followed by a downwards swing, empaling the beowolf. Or at least it would have if it was real.

He lunged forward in the direction of a would-be Ursa, subsequently spinning his connected scythes. The beast didn't fall as easily as the wolf, but it stumbled backwards. Death went on to once again to conjure his Reaper form, as it simultaneously brought its scythe down onto the bear, as it was too slow to retaliate.

The Executioner went on to create countless scenarios while he patiently waited for the rest of the party to return.

* * *

Raven overlooked the tribe's camp, seeing to that everyone was pulling their weight. From the porch of her tent she saw that atop one of the sharpened tree shafts used to create a wall, rested a blackbird. Had it just been an average crow or raven she would have shrugged it off as nothing. But she knew better.

Appearance wise it stood out from most of the wild blackbirds in the forest, although the differences were hard to spot. Had she not paid attention it would have slipped past her. It was relatively large, about the size of a small hawk. It's ruffled feathers gave it a feral appearance, and like she is in her raven form, it had strangely colored eyes. However it had bright ethereal green eyes while hers were a dark deep red.

It had a crazed look in it's eye as it stared directly at her. It had been tailing her since she listened in on Qrow's talk with the kids. She didn't notice it at first when she flew back to the camp, but about halfway there it became apparent that it was following her.

It gave a single _caw_ as it ended the staring contest between the two of them. Shortly after, it gently fell down onto a crate that rested against the wall, and eagerly hopped over to look over a sleeping tribe member in a chair. As it hovered over the tribesman, it reeled its head back and slammed its beak into one of the tribesman's closed eyelids.

The member almost instantly screamed in pain as the large blackbird continued to peck at the man's eye. After only about to more seconds of trying the bird was able to skewer the man's eye onto its beak, before subsequently swallowing it whole. The crazed look in its eye wasn't for show Raven supposed.

"Agh! You little shit!" The man said in agony as he drew his revolver and attempted fire at the bird as it started to fly away, but missed every shot.

Raven watched the blackbird fly out of the camp, more intrigued by it rather than concerned about the man who just lost his left eye. Whatever it was, it was smart and trained. It was likely headed towards its master, whoever that was. As of right now it didn't matter, she had more important things to tend to.

* * *

Team RNJR was approaching the front door of the house when Nora attempted to spark up a conversation. Up until now they all stayed silent, leaving themselves to their own thoughts as they were still processing what was happening. It was fine at first but Nora was starting to get anxious not talking to any of her friends on the matter at hand.

"So uhh… how do you think Yang is going to take that we're hunting her mom?" Nora openly asked.

"Well it's not Raven who we're looking for, it's the Spring maiden. But that doesn't matter seeing as how Yang stayed at home with her dad. You did say she's still recovering with Tai when we left, right Ruby?" Ren replied correcting Nora, as well as asking a question himself.

"Huh? Uh, yeah." Ruby replied in a disinterested tone.

"Come on Rubes, cheer up. There's a time place for us to be serious, but now and here isn't it. We're not going to get anything done being gloomy, so try and have fun with the few fun things we have." Nora said as she began to lighten the mood, as well as surprising her teammates. Although what she said wasn't all that special by itself, it was a pretty profound by Nora's standards.

"Yeah." Ruby said in a more carefree tone, her emotionless face growing a small smile.

"If we're going to kick Salem's butt, then we're going to have to be have to be at the top of our game!" She exclaimed, a sliver of her innocence still alive within her.

"C'mon Nora! To the training room!" Ruby said, positivity once again flowing through her body, and completely forgetting about their guest.

"Yeah!" Nora cheered with an evil grin on her face.

The two busted through the front door of the house, with Ruby leading the charge. Ren and Jaune who continued at their walking pace exchanged glances with each other. Both had a comical 'so that just happened' expression painted on their faces.

"Best two out of three?" Ruby said with energy as she and Nora raced to the training room, their hands already having their weapons drawn.

"You're on!" Exclaimed the red head.

Ruby rushed down the small flight of stairs and into the training room, prepared to spar for the first time since the fall of Beacon. Her eyes were full an energy and innocence that they haven't known in what felt like forever.

That was until she saw _him_.

Death threw his connected scythes forward, causing it to spin in the air in place, faster than her eyes could see. He then grabbed the center of the handle and disconnected the two ends. Before he brought them back behind his back, he slashed the air with the two as if the blades were a pair of scissors. And as he did so a giant dark purple figure that looked like the reaper, appeared in front of him. It was only there for half of a second, but in that time it hit the would be enemy at the same time as Death, dealing a single upwards slash.

She stood frozen at the base of the stairs as she watched the pale man practice.

"Hey Ruby, what's wro-" Nora started but stopped herself as she saw what she was looking at.

Death was beginning another string of attacks, this one ending similarly to the last.

"Is the fight still on?" Nora reluctantly asked Ruby.

"Huh? Oh yeah sorry. It's just that I feel a little weird being watched by Death and all." She said as she paused to watch him continue his onslaught, occasionally seeing the reaper show up again.

"Hey, isn't that the purple thing that hit us when we first fought him?" Nora asked Ruby, both of their interests peaked.

"I think so. You think summoning is his semblance?" Ruby replied to her friend, thinking back to how Weiss was still trying to master her own summoning.

"Why don't you ask him? It's not like we're on opposite sides or anything." Nora suggested.

"Alright."

Ruby slowly approached the pale scythe wielder, fearful that she'd bother him.

"Sooo uh," she watched as he paid no attention to the young huntress as she approached his side.

"is that your semblance?" She asked warily.

Death stopped what he was doing, and brought his disconnected scythes to a more relaxed position as he turned to face Ruby.

"What?" He asked, clueless as to what she meant but hardly cared for it.

"Summoning, is that your semblance?" She asked timidly asked again.

"What does 'semblance' have to do with anything? You're talking nonsense." He said, his confident tone contrasting with Ruby's uncertain voice.

"You don't know what a semblance is?" She asked, more dumbstruck than scared this time.

"Why would I? I rarely concern myself with humanity." Death replied.

"Well it's just that, I, uh, that makes sense I guess." Ruby said, knowing that things are _very_ different where he comes from.

"Well, it might be called differently back in, uh, where ever it is you're from. But a semblance is more or less a unique ability only you can use." Ruby replied, feeling more relaxed knowing she knew something he didn't.

"It's like having your very own super power!" Nora said energetically, walking up to Ruby's side, not nearly as timid as her cloaked friend.

"And is summoning that weird purple thing, and that fire horse from before, is that yours?" She asked.

"You could say that." Death answered.

"The humans of my time weren't capable of such feats. You've come far."

"Thanks! I think." Ruby said half flattered and half confused. "Nora and I were just about to spar a little, if you don't mind."

"What you do is none of my concern." Death said as he turned to walk closer the fenced ledge, leaving room for Ruby and Nora to fight on the other half of the cliff.

"You ready for this?" Nora said with a evil looking grin. She drew Magnhild from her back and put it in hammer form. She took a stance slightly leaning forward, with her right foot back.

"Whenever you are." Ruby said matching her enthusiasm. She took a similar stance with Crescent Rose, although not quite as aggressive.

Nora charged forward, not hesitating to strike first. As she approached Ruby she raised Magnhild over her head and brought it down to where her friend was standing.

The problem with having a hammer as large as Nora's, was that she had to put a lot of emphasis on large swings to build up momentum. This made the majority of her attacks easily telegraphed to her opponents, and Ruby knew how to exploit it. With Nora's headstrong attitude Ruby saw the strike coming a mile a way.

As Nora swung Ruby jumped just high enough to get her legs off the ground, but kept the rest of her body at eye level. Nora's hammer missed its target and slammed into the ground. While Ruby was in the air she dealt a horizontal slash to Nora's face with Crescent Rose.

Nora stumbled back, her left hand feeling her cheek where Ruby struck her, while her right clung to Magnhild.

Ruby capitalized on her opening while Nora was still dazed. She used her semblance to rush the red head, leaving rose petals in her wake. As she exited her cloak she elbowed Nora in the face, utilizing her momentum to put more force behind her strike.

Ruby aimed to continue her onslaught by firing Crescent Rose in sniper form at her friend.

Nora, not wanting to look like a punching bag, made cover for herself by slamming Magnhild into the earth, causing a slab of rock rise from the ground and shield her. She fired a single grenade over her cover as a distraction.

Ruby dashed forward towards Nora using her semblance, taking the bait.

As she got closer, Nora smashed her rock shield to bits as she turned the tides on Ruby. Before Ruby could realized what she was planning, Nora hit the young rose in the right side of her abdomen, practically sending her flying towards the area of the cliff Death was training.

She skidded to a halt before she could collide with the dual scythe wielder, but she still managed to draw his attention away from his practice.

Nora sprinted towards her, as Ruby did the same. With about ten feet of ground left between the two, Ruby dashed forward using her semblance once more. Death stopped what he was doing to observe the two young humans.

Ruby exited her cloak and petals, quickly twirling Crescent Rose upwards as she did so. With each rotation she hit Nora in either her stomach or the bottom of her jaw. Before she could recover, Ruby continued her assault as she slashed Nora's abdomen at an angle, and did so again but coming from the opposite direction. She followed up with a powerful slash to the redhead's stomach. Ruby repeated the move where she twirled Crescent Rose upwards, but didn't do it for quite as long this time around. Finally she finished with an upwards blow, using both of her hands more so than Crescent Rose's momentum.

Death looked at Ruby, his eyes squinting with skepticism. What she pulled of seemed eerily familiar to him. He walked through what she did in his head, and realized what it was.

"Ugh…" Nora groaned as she tried to get up. Ruby walked up to her friend and offered her a hand, to which she gladly accepted.

The scene reminded Death too much of his last confrontation with Absalom.

"You want to keep going?" Ruby asked as she pulled her friend up.

"Maybe later. I'm just now noticing how hard you hit." Nora replied. While she winced in pain, her smile never wavered.

"Come on, Ren is going need help getting dinner ready." Ruby cheerfully said as she and Nora started walking back into the house.

"You did good for just seeing it once." Death called out to the two. Both girls turned around in confusion.

"Um…" Ruby hummed.

"What?" Nora questioned, not having a clue in the world as to what he meant.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice, Rose?" Death called back again, his voice slightly laced with amusement.

"The finishing move you used on your friend, it was the one you saw me doing when you came out here. Or rather it was an imitation of it." He finally said, seeing as how she wasn't catching on.

"Oh! I'msosorry, I-I didn'tthinkyouwouldcareifIborrowedit j-just this once," Ruby spewed as she suddenly broke out trying to explain herself.

"What are you getting so worked up about?" He said as he gave a slight chuckle.

He found her innocent stampering amusing. Innocence is a trait incredibly rare to come across inside anything that isn't human nature. Occasional forms of humor, and in very rare cases being knocked out, are the only breaks the reaper takes from achieving his goal.

"For what it was worth, you did well. I think I'm beginning to like this iteration of humanity more than the last." Death said to the young rose.

Had they met under _very_ different circumstances, he might have enjoyed taking her in under his tutelage.

"Well, uh, thanks!" Ruby said. The fact that she wasn't apart of the original human race still made her feel a bit uneasy. But Death didn't seem to be making a big deal of it, so she tried to do the same.

"Nora and I are heading in to help Ren with dinner, we'd like it if you could help." She said hopefully.

"Go on without me. I'm a warrior, not a cook."

Both of the girls nodded and turned to walk back into the house. Once they were both gone and up the stairs Death looked to the mountains, and left himself to his thoughts.

He wondered where each of his siblings were, and how they were fairing. War was in the most trouble when he leapt into the Well of Souls, but he's very capable of holding his own. Even against Hell's champions. He didn't need to worry about his safety for the most part. It was his connection to the Charred Council that has him worried. He didn't doubt their intentions, but they were incredibly strict, and not afraid to show it.

Strife on the other hand was without Redemption, which made up half of his primary arsenal. He's as good of a fighter as War, if not better. But if he is without Redemption, then he may very well be missing Mercy. He is more than just his guns, but if he is missing both of his pistols, he won't be able to last long. He and Death didn't leave on great terms with each other, but Strife was still his brother. Death still loved him as much as War and Fury. But he never showed it to any of them.

He hardly had to worry about Fury. It had been nearly a century since he last spoke to her, and in all that time he's never even heard her name be mentioned. She's managed to fly under everyone's radar for quite some time. If anything bad did happen to her, he would have known about it by now. One way or another.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a caw. He looked his right and saw Dust quickly approaching, the large crow coming to rest on his left shoulder.

Death angled his head to so that he could see Dust in the corner of his vision, but didn't quite look him in the eye.

"What did you find?" He asked his guide.

Dust replied by looking in the direction he flew in from, and croaked like a raven.

"South?" He looked off into the distance, although he knew he wouldn't find anything.

"Should I be worried?" He asked, to which Dust gave out another caw. Death somehow was able to understand everything Dust told him, or at least anything of importance. But much of what he said was still just senseless croaking.

"I see." Death said grimly. His guide gave him the closest thing it could to a 'yes'.

"The children are preparing a meal. If you're fast you might be able to snatch a few pieces while it's still raw."

Dust hastily leaped off Death's shoulder and took flight, heading towards the training room. Death saw him disappear as he flew up the stairs and into rest of the house. A few seconds of silence passed as nothing happened. The screaming of Ruby, and mabey Jaune, broke the silence as they turned to see the bird feasting on their dinner.

"Birdy why!?" Ruby squealed from inside the kitchen.

Death chuckled to himself at their reaction. He stopped himself, fearing that if he kept humoring himself that he'd get soft.

Ruby came down the stairs with a broom in hand, swinging at the crow as it made its escape. A piece of raw meat still flailing in his beak. The crow flew towards Death and landed on his shoulder again. Dust flung his head back and let the piece of meat momentarily float in the air, before catching it and swallowing it whole.

"Wait a minute. That bird is yours?" Ruby asked, curious as to why Death casually let it rest on his shoulder.

"He was given to me as a gift, from the Crowfather." Death said as he walked towards Ruby, closing the large gap between them. He was tired of having to hollar for them to hear him.

"His name is Dust. He acts as my personal guide, and in rare cases, my spy."

"Woah, that's so cool!" Ruby said, letting her innocence shine through again.

"Where was he all this time? I've never seen him, and you've been with us a couple days." Ruby asked.

"That night you all sat by the campfire, the day you met me, there was a raven watching over us. Listening."

"Okay, we have a lot of ravens-" she started but was cut off.

"None with red eyes though. I told Dust to follow it, and here he his reporting."

"He can, talk?" Ruby questioned.

"No, but I can understand his nonsense." Death answered.

"We ought to watch out for whoever's bird that is."

"'Watch out for bird person'. Got it." Ruby said, a little worried that Death could talk to his bird.

"I'm heading back into help with dinner. Are you sure you don't want to come in? I can't see anyone having fun out here by themselves." Ruby asked, not wanting to exclude anyone, even if they are the Grim Reaper.

"I'm not here to have fun. You may have time for that, but I don't." Death said, making his intentions clear.

"Oh, alright. Uh, talk to you later." Ruby said to him, trying her best to sound upbeat, despite her offer being shot down.

She turned around and walked up the stairs, leaving Death to himself once more. Death walked back out onto the cliff side. He hadn't noticed how low the sun has gotten since the children got back from paying the professor a visit. The sky transformed from its natural blue hue to a combination of pink and orange.

He reached down to grab his scythes, preparing to go through another string of attacks, but he felt something, as if his heart skipped a beat. It didn't even last half of a second, but it felt unlike anything he had felt in centuries. The surprising surge of potent energy nearly knocked him off his feet. Death stood still, his scythes held in a combat ready stance.

His uneasiness was met with nothing. He expected that there would be another surge of the power, like the steady beat of a heart, but silence was the only thing that prevailed through the entire courtyard. Even though he wasn't suspecting the wave of power to rush over him, if he nearly fell, it would undoubtedly be a danger to humans. Death turned and ran up the stairs towards the kitchen.

If what he felt wasn't some mind trick he let get to him, then the children ought to have felt it as well, and they might not be in as of good shape as him. Death hustled down the corridor and turned the corner to the kitchen. They all looked exhausted, they were all panting for air, completely dropping whatever it was they were doing to catch their breaths.

Ruby stumbled over and was about to collapse, but caught herself by holding onto the edge of a counter. She, as well as the rest of team RNJR, looked over to see Death watching over them with (or what they could only guess) concern. Ruby shakily stood back up, her breathing slowly returning to its typical pace.

"What, was that?" She asked as she looked at Death's orange eyes.

"Something not of Remnant, but a spawn of Heaven, or Hell." The pale rider made clear. The teens looked at him with wide eyes, all filled with shock.

"Heaven and H-Hell, here?" Jaune said with an anxiety rich voice.

"How do you know?" Ren asked, calmer than his friend, but clearly breaking his collected composure.

"I haven't felt anything this powerful in centuries. In that time I've seen more worlds, far more capable than that of Remnant, all of which lack anything of this caliber. The only answer that would make any sense would be something of the White City or the Dark Realm. Likely the latter." Death told the kids, not worried about them being terror stricken.

But there was more to it than what he told them, although he couldn't quite tell for sure. The pulse of energy gave him déjà vu, a sensation he's come to despise over the milenia. it gave off an aura that was blistering and explosive when it hit him. He was far from recognizing the source, but Death couldn't shake the feeling of knowing what it was.

 _'It's on the tip of my tongue. But by tongue appears to be elsewhere."_ The image of the giant construct from the Forge Lands said as he thought of the position he was in.

"Well what are we going to do?" Ruby asked Death, fear in her eyes.

"Nothing. If whatever that was is free, Dust would have found it by now. Where ever it is, it's harmless, it's none of your concern." Death said, calming the teens as to not escalate the situation.

"How do you know?" Nora asked, just as worried as her teammates.

"Because, even if it was free, if I so much as allow it to touch the hair on any of your heads, my brother's neck might not be intact by the end of all of this."

Ruby's body language seemed to ease up, but her face still showed concern.

"Return to whatever it was you were doing. All of this means nothing as of now, so it's best you treat it that way." Death said as he turned around to head back to the courtyard on the cliff.

Ruby looked at the dinner she was preparing, it had sat on the stove far to long at this point. The look of stress that was on her face changed to one of disappointment.

"And I almost got this dish right…" She mumbled to herself.

"Hey Ren, can you please clean up in here pretty please?" She asked her friend, her voice get higher in pitch the farther into her sentence.

"Uh, sure, but aren't any of you going to eat?" Ren asked everyone in the room.

"You know uh, I think we all lost our appetites." Jaune said, Nora nodding her head alongside him.

"Alright." Ren said calmly as he began dumping some of the green beans down the garbage disposal.

"I'm going to my room, probably just going to read some comics to get my mind off _things._ " Ruby quietly announced to her friends.

"Yeah." Jaune mumbled.

"Good idea." He said in a depressed tone as he looked at the floor.

 **A/N:**

 **First off, sorry for not updating in nearly a year and going off to start other projects and only do the same thing to them. I was about to give up on the one I'm currently writing, but I've already got three or four stories that I've been putting off. I figured the least I could do is finish at least two of those stories before I jump the gun on a new story. After being gone for nearly a year, coming back and writing this feels strangely refreshing.**

 **My original plan for this story was that I was going to start writing this chapter when episode one of vol. 5 went live on YouTube, and post more chapters afterwards. However, seeing as how RNJR did literally nothing except talk, and stayed that way until the very end of the volume I knew it was going to be harder than planned.**

 **I found it incredibly hard to write something that would mesh well with the way Darksiders protagonists behave (Death is always moving towards his goals, even if there are detours) and the direction RWBY's protagonists are going, RNJR specifically, (The team is filled in with exposition, preparing for a time of which they will eventually have to fight something). I understand that those are VERY grossly oversimplified summaries, but the point still stands.**

 **Now then, on to the stuff that i would have said if I didn't decide to leave this story sitting in the back a of my garage. Combat is incredibly difficult to write, especially since how fast paced RWBY and Darksiders 2 are. As for the Darksiders spectrum, should I use the technical names for Death's moves? (ex: the fight against the imaginary beowolf he used his Evade Counter, and with the Ursa he used Harvester Revenge followed by Harvester Slam). I'm not sure if most of you are familiar with the move names so I'm a little hesitant. If it does come to that, I'll still probably describe what's happening (ex: He used Harvester Slam on the Ursa, bringing his scythe down onto the bear's back). Please let me know in the reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Altercation

"We start, by ensuring the safety of the relic of knowledge."

Death heard Oscar, or rather Ozpin, from around the corner. He was professing that he had the unwanted ability to reincarnate in that of a soul not unlike his own. He had no doubts that he was capable of this, but it was how he acquired this curse that bothered him. Oz said that it was bestowed upon him by 'the gods' for not having stopped Salem. This didn't sound like the Charred Council.

Even as humanity was now, they still aren't ready to handle the anticipated apocalypse. Although Death had written the wrongs of the one responsible for framing War, the Council would never interfere with humanity under any circumstance that didn't involve another party. Assigning a human such as Ozpin to put an end to a threat like Salem; to water it down, seemed incredibly out of character.

The Creator very well could, but he prefered to work subtly, and wouldn't force any humans or angels to proceed if they didn't want to. The Destroyer is the complete opposite. With his tongue of silver, he would convince humans to do whatever he pleased, but he could not force anything onto them. Not from Hell.

As it stands, Ozpin is at the very least misinterpreting the 'gods' for who they are, at its worst, the Council has _really_ changed since he left to free War.

"These 'gods', how did they come to you?" Death asked as he joined everyone else in the living room.

"I wondered when you would be joining us. Now then, who might you be?" Ozpin retorted as the pale rider came to stand in front of him.

"Trouble if you don't start talking." The rider threatened.

"A bit trigger happy here aren't we?"

"Quit your yapping. You have a better chance of dodging a bullet than you do my question."

"So it seems. Seeing as how you likely overheard what the children and I were discussing a moment ago and Qrow hadn't stopped you, I trust that I can put my faith in you. But don't think for a moment you can avoid explaining yourself."

"I see no problem in that."

"Now then, I'll try to keep this brief. Once I was a huntsman, not of any especially high caliber, but I had asked the questions no one else had. Questions they were too afraid to. Having grown fascinated with the grimm I had all but made it my life's mission to discover their secrets. My findings had lead to me to Salem. I had survived our first encounter, and knew enough to know I should put an end to her. In our next confrontation I wasn't so lucky. I suffered my first death of thousands yet to come. I would say they came to me in my dying breath, but it rather it happened the moment after."

"They?"

"Yes. Voices. Though their figures I have yet to see, their voices were rather vivid. Three of them. They had told me of how they watched me, as well as Salem. They told me that the duty to finish Salem for good had fallen on me. That it was bound to me. I had to follow it through. I had asked questions as to why, to which they told me that the fairy tales I had found when studying the grimm were not as fictional as they were made out to be."

"And those would be?"

"The tale of two brothers, and the four maidens. I assume Qrow has told you." Oz said, though it sounded more like a question.

"He has. Might I add, you were wrong."

"Excuse me?" Death had broken Ozpin's composure with that one, albeit slightly.

"You may have met these voices, though they have lied to you. Or rather, skewed the facts."

"Now seems like a fitting time for me to return to my original question. Who _are_ you?"

"Death."

"A name, not a title."

"That _is_ his name." Ruby sheepishly chimed in. Ozpin glanced at Ruby skeptically before looking back at Death carefully.

"When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come' I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him." Ozpin said to no one in particular.

"Death of the four horsemen of the apocalypse?" Ozpin questioned the kinslayer.

"Though not perfect, that would be the most accurate interpretation of reality. Your 'two brothers' aren't too far off either, with a few exceptions."

"I, see… though I suppose that your presence her is possible, what troubles me is why now? Is the end of the world upon us?"

"It has already come. Milenia before even you, though it shouldn't have. My brother, at the mercy of the three voices, the Charred Council, was sentenced to eternal imprisonment. But I knew they were wrong. To erase the crime I sought the well of souls, where I brought life back to the desolate Eden that you call 'Remnant'. Why I was brought back to Eden is beyond me but to be frank it's irrelevant. What's important now is that we kill Salem, I return to my station, and see my brother done justice."

"So be it." Oz said, contemplating everything the reaper told him.

"You seem to care an awful lot about your brother, would I know his name?" He asked Death.

"War."

"Another one of the four. And what of the other two?"

"What do they matter to you?"

"I simply want to wish them all the best. Though something tells me they don't need my blessings."

"You are right to think so. That aside, it would be wise for us to retrieve the relic of knowledge immediately, and I assume you know where it is safeguarded?"

"Yeah, we do." Qrow joined the conversation.

"It's held beneath the foundation of Haven."

"So _what_ are we waiting for?" Death asked aggressively.

"Only the spring maiden can open gates that shield it from intruders, and I doubt even you can break it down with brute force."

"You knew this yet we came all this way. I doubt you planned on leading us to a dead end, so you must know where she resides."

"We do, but it's not as simple as show up and take her."

"And _why_ would that be?"

"I'm not certain if she's being held hostage or if she joined, but I've tracked her down to a camp owned by the Branwen tribe. And my sister is top dog.

"I still don't see how that complicates anything."

"My sister, Raven, isn't exactly a push over, and neither is anyone else in her tribe. If we were to all move out tonight and take them by storm, I'm not certain we'd win, even with your help. If we fail, I have no doubt they'd evacuate to somewhere where we won't find them. _Then_ , we'll hit a dead end."

"If Raven is anything comparable to you, I doubt we'd have any trouble. I'm more than enough to handle everyone in this room why not the bandits?"

"Me and Oz call the shots here, and even if you're confident, we still don't know you enough to know what you're capable of. We're not willing to take that kind of risk."

"That you must understand. However," Ozpin said to Death before turning to the drunk.

"you still haven't told me what our current course of action is, and now would be a good time to enlighten us." He requested of Qrow.

"Well, as it stands now our best bet is to assemble a team of experienced huntsmen and rush the place. Only problem is that with all the commotion going around since the fall of Beacon, huntsmen are scarce so it'll take some time for us to find enough." Qrow explained.

"So all we do is stand aside and twiddle our thumbs?" Death exclaimed, clearly not a fan of the plan.

"I don't know about you, but this won't be easy for everyone else involved. So yes, we'll wait. But we'll sharpening our skills for when the time comes. Which Leo says will be in a few weeks, but even I don't want to wait that long."

"Then let's not." Death was done discussing this and began walking towards the door.

"And where do you think you're going?" Qrow called out to the rider.

"To take the spring maiden back." Two large purple arms materialized over Death and slammed open the front door.

"Death, do not walk away from us. You stayed for a reason, so why leave now." Ozpin said, getting out of his chair and trying to catch up to the reaper.

"Now you all choose to hide."

"Don't confuse what we do for cowardice."

"Then it is foolishness."

"We have to stick together. We will fail any other way." Oz wasn't going let him go this easily.

"If you fail-"

"I'm coming with." Ruby declared.

Silence filled the room. Death stood still. Everyone turned their heads towards the young rose.

"Ruby what are you…" Jaune didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't have to.

"Hey kid, now isn't-" Qrow tried handling his words carefully but they were cut short.

"I know I'm being rash, and I don't think that we should jump the gun, but Death is leaving whether we like it or not. The best thing we can make of the situation right now is make sure that he succeeds." Ruby looked around and saw that everyone was looking at her with concerned eyes.

"If you can wait a little bit longer," Ruby looked at Death.

"I'd like to grab my things."

"If anyone would like to join us, I suggest you do the same." The reaper said from the open door frame.

Ruby looked to the remaining members of team JNPR.

"Any of you?" They all had mixed expressions on their faces.

"It's okay to stay if you want to. I'll be safe with him. And it's not like we won't see each other again, after all the entire point is to not waste time. I just... I don't want to leave you all again."She was beginning to tear up.

"I think… it's best we stay here." Jaune said, but it was obvious he wasn't certain.

"Alright." Ruby said, her voice steadying.

Ruby left the living room and went to her's. Spotting Crescent Rose leaning next to her bed she quickly picked it up and placed it on her lower back. She grabbed her backpack and looked inside. Plenty of dust rounds, a water bottle, and some food rations she hadn't gone through yet.

She was about to close it but she wanted to pack one last thing. She reached under her pillow and pulled out her diary. End of the world or not, she wasn't about to let anyone look at her secrets. She placed the book in her backpack, closed it, and put it on.

Emerging from her room she saw Ozpin talking to Death but she couldn't make out his words. She took a few steps towards the door, everyone still looking at her with the same shocked expressions as before. As she walked past Qrow, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to him to see a face that said 'choose very carefully' to her. Ruby looked back at the rider, and continued her way out. Qrows hand letting go as she did so.

She walked up to Death's side and turned around to see everyone inside. Jaune, Nora, and Ren all looked worried. Qrow's expression was a mixture of frustration and fear. And Ozpin was jumping from contemplation and disapproval.

"Uhh, after you." Ruby said to Death sheepishly.

Death turned and started down the path, supposedly leading out of the kingdom, with Ruby following just a little behind him and to his right side.

Inside everyone watched as the two disappeared from view. Jaune walked over to the open doors and looked around them, the reaper and the rose nowhere to be seen. He closed the doors before hanging his head in thought. Ren and Nora walked to his side.

"Did we, make the right choice?" Nora asked the team leader.

"I… don't know. I'm going to bed." He answered truthfully.

"Good idea…" Ren said, no more certain of the call than Jaune.

* * *

"I guess I should have asked sooner, but where _are_ we going. I don't remember Qrow telling you where she actually is." Ruby asked.

"Dust knows the land of nearly every realm. Finding a bandit camp won't be difficult. Regardless, he already seems to know where to go." He looked up to see the crow flying overhead.

"I recommend wearing your hood up. From what I could tell your silver eyes might draw unwanted attention."

"Gotcha." She hastily pulled the hood of her cloak over her head to partially hide her eyes but not impair her vision.

"Hey, I understand you might not want to talk about it, but if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to know more about your family." She asked the horseman.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'd just like to know more about you in general. Just knowing your brother is another horseman can open a lot of doors for conversation to say the least. And I don't think you're all that interested in me. So if you're open to the idea, can you tell me more about you?" She asked timidly, but she knew she'd have to get comfortable with talking to him at some point. After all, she's not as outgoing as Nora and Yang are.

Death continued walking, thinking about her request. In the past he never had the time to hold a conversation or no one to have it with. Not that he ever cared to. Going into personal territory, he could very easily get defensive. But with Ruby, he knew he didn't have to worry so much. She didn't seem like one to openly object to his ideals. And even if she did, he knew humans rarely even lived to century. Exposing himself couldn't cost him much.

"Once we're out of the kingdom. Any unwanted listeners overhear us and I'll have to do something no one would want."

"Deal." Ruby said, gradually growing less timid around him.

 **A/N: I am so sorry for being as late as I am with this chapter. It's only about two thirds the length I was shooting for but I didn't want to keep you all waiting any longer. I've been dealing with some family issues these past four days so I wasn't able to put in the daily work I've been trying to stay true to. Should everything go smoothly from here on out, the next chapter should be up between 20 and 24 days.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 : A Blood Red Path

After two hours of walking and dodging the shady merchants that inhabit the lower levels of Mistral, Ruby and Death managed to make it to the outskirts of the kingdom. As it's reputation would lead many to believe, Mistral certainly wasn't shy of trade of any form. Legal or not. Despite this, as soon as one were to reached the bottom of either mountains, they would find themselves alone very fast.

And with the seemingly long road ahead of them, this gave Ruby plenty of time to pester her only other party member with questions. But even though she had been given permission, she was still wary to instigate a conversation. When she started her first year of beacon, she was too timid to talk to anyone that wasn't her sister. And while she managed to make friends in due time, they were high school kids. Death is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. He only seemed to be second to the gods of creation and destruction by the sound of it. Needless to say, this was a bit of a step up from what her already shy self is used to.

"So, how are we getting to the spring maiden? I don't exactly know how far the campsite is, but I don't suppose we're going on foot." said the small scythe wielder.

"We aren't."

In a sudden flash of ethereal green, a horse appeared from beneath the ground to Death's side. It was the same one that he rode when they fought the Nuckelavee in mistral. Before she was only able to see it from afar, and when it was up close it wasn't there for long. As long as they were here she could look at it in much more detail.

Up to its saddle it was just shy of seven feet, putting it as the tallest being between it, Death, and Ruby herself. Which was very tall for an average horse, but that was at the bottom of the list of out of the ordinary things the steed had. Its hooves emulated flames the same shade of green from before, while the mane and tail were completely replaced by them. It's flesh was rotting away, turning it a sick pale white and allowing Ruby to peek into its ribcage if she looked closely. The armor that the steed was fitted with was almost as outlandish.

Starting from its lower back, thin bone like steel rows ran down its hide and came to a tip when it reached the tail. A large saddle was centered on its back, beneath it was a dark tattered purple cloth that went down its sides. The saddle had chains that wrapped around the horse's neck and connected to a hunk of metal with a skull design.

Death meddled with the chains before managing to move the saddle farther down the back of the horse undead horse.

"Here." Death said, extending a hand out to Ruby.

Looking at the reaper and back at the horse she knew what he was trying to do.

"I don't know if you can say the same, but I don't mix well with fire." She protested, to which the reaper sighed.

"Trust me." He said, his hand still extended.

Ruby looked at him, and it was clear from her facial expression that she still wasn't certain whether she should get on. As soon as Death noticed this he walked behind Ruby and gently pushed her closer to the phantom horse.

"Uh, you know, on second thought I think walking is a _great_ idea." She stammered.

The pale rider got a firm grasp on Ruby's forearm and bought it up to his steed's mane. She tried to retract it but she knew it was futile. He brought her hand to the green flames, and to her pleasant surprise she was unharmed. In fact the flames actually felt comforting. She didn't know what to expect, in retrospect this was probably the best way it could have turned out.

The little rose was suddenly hoisted up and onto the saddle of the horse. She hadn't even processed that Death removed his hand until afterwards. Before Ruby could say anything the reaper mounted his pale steed, sitting in front of the huntress.

"Hold onto me, or the saddle. And don't try to talk for while. You'll bite your tongue off."

With that Death cracked the reigns, commanding the phantom horse to charge down the path. With such a little warning, Ruby wrapped her arms around the reaper, clinging for dear life. She knew her aura would protect her should she ever fall off and be trampled, but in the moment she felt anything but safe.

Yang had taken her on rides on her motorcycle bumblebee, but a horse is a completely different story. She's heard horses have much better acceleration than any vehicle, and finally being on one certainly proved so. At the rate the pale horse was picking up speed, it seemed like it might as well be as fast as one too. While bumblebee's engine gave off a constant hum and vibration from its engine, being mounted on a living thing that dwarfed her in size guaranteed Ruby she will never feel settled so long as it was picking up speed. She could see why Death told her to watch her tongue.

Ruby felt like she was in a rodeo with no sign of stopping, but to her relief, the pale mount slowed to a cruising speed. While it was still going too fast for comfort, the rose was happy that they won't be taking their entire journey at that pace.

The huntress loosened her grip on the horseman and looked back to Haven. To her surprise the kingdom's lowermost floors have already disappeared behind a thick layer of trees. Looking up she could see that Haven was still present, but they they have already traveled farther than she anticipated.

A few minutes passed and the duo found the scenery that encompassed them was made up entirely of trees, the path they followed, and the occasional glimpse of the night sky above. Without Dust, they'd surely be lost. The crow flew far in front of them, but did not go so high as to pierce the canopy of green leaves. His green glow made sure Death could see him at all times.

"Your horse, does he have a name?" She asked the kinslayer.

"Despair. As something that will forever be at my side, I thought the name would be fitting."

"Well, I can't say I disagree. Not that you're that bad of a guy." She stammered her last words.

"I'm sorry if I'm asking things that are too personal and all that, but you said that the other, err, horsemen are your siblings, who are they?"

"War and Strife, my brothers. And Fury, my only sister."

"Well uh," sure he answered her question, but he was a bit more brief than she would have liked.

"Can you tell me a little bit more about them?"

"Which one?"

"Any of them, I guess."

Of course Death had his views on his siblings, most of them negative. But that much is in their nature. Nevertheless he looked after all of them, whether it be as their leader or their brother.

"While Strife and I don't see eye to eye, neither of us come from a foolish place. Though he doesn't seek to be leader of the four himself, he has openly voiced his distaste towards my actions. He believes me to be cruel and unforgiving when commanding. He jests himself to be a philosopher of sorts. Always trying to bring peace amongst those who are willing to change as he does. He is always respectful. At least to those who aren't at the end of his guns."

"War is naive in a sense. He is more than a capable warrior, and has seen the atrocities of the name he has been given. But even so he believes that honor can exist in this realm where loyalties can change with a breeze. As short tempered as he is, he is noble. Something that is rare in any realm. He's the most... tolerable, between the others.

"Fury, is standoffish to say the least. I say War is naive, but Fury is the one that knows so little of what her boundless bloodlust and anger means. No respect. No remorse. No reason. I made her a flask that would give her life where she would lose it. While War must find room for his morals, and Strife has the least potent with power, Fury is the weakest of us all. Should she ever fall, I don't think she can get back up. Next time we meet, I don't think she intends to see me leave unscathed."

"Wait, you mean she wants to fight you?"

"She wants to take my place as the leader of the four. And in the time we've been apart, she'll be more than willing to duel me for the right. She has such a hatred for me she would have gone for my head long ago if we weren't siblings. And the few times she had, she lost."

Ruby let that sink in. Fury sounds so much like a twisted Yang. Like if Yang's sisterly love was replaced with that of her rage. Strong, gung-ho, and willing to fight anyone that gets in her way or ticks her off. Ruby looks at Yang as her best friend, but Fury seems to look at Death as her worst enemy.

"Do you and Fury… hate each other?" She asked hesitantly.

"She might hate me, but I don't hate her. She carries the most spite out of all of us. I call her weak to make her stronger. I want to see her grow. But she has learned nothing from what I've done. She thinks of herself as the most capable of us all. She sees me as too forgiving and not willing to make the tough decisions. With me as leader, she naturally wants to see me lose to her."

"But didn't you say Strife thinks you're too cruel?"

"Yes."

"So how does Fury think you're the polar opposite?"

"Strife is a warrior before anything else and won't shy away from battle. He just wants there to be no need for conflict in the first place. Fury simply wants to be seen as the toughest person in the room. They have fought over more arbitrary things than being leader countless of times. It'd make sense they look at me differently."

"Oh…"

"You guys don't sound like you get along."

"In most ways we don't. But we look out for each other. That comes before all else."

Ruby listened to what Death had to say about his small family. He hasn't been with holding any insight she's asked of him. As old as time or not this had to be personal for him, yet he was answering without hesitation.

"I know we agreed I can ask you anything, but why are you so open about all of this?" the huntress asked the reaper.

"..." He didn't answer, letting the question sit before he picked it up.

"Trust for one reason. Unlike other races, humans are left in the dark about the rest of the realms. If we're going to be working with one another you should know what you're getting into. Humans don't live too long, and I trust you and your friends will carry my secrets to the grave."

"So you're not worried about telling me all of this?"

"Worried, no. But you should feel lucky. Everyone else that knows this much is either dead or shouldl be soon."

"Thanks. I think. And don't worry your secret's safe with me."

 _Caw!_

Dust demanded the rider's attention, bringing it to the road ahead. They were coming to a crossroads, parting into three other directions. Despair slowed to a halt as they approached a post standing in the center of all four paths, Dust sitting atop it. The sign pointing down the path to the left labeled 'Galath', straight ahead was 'Kuroyuri', though its engravings were crossed out, and to the right was 'Reksis'.

"What are you waiting for?" Death called out to the crow.

With another caw it flashed green hastily flew from the post. He continued down the path to the left. If Kuroyuri was anything to go off of, Galath was probably the name of the town up ahead.

"Are we going to be spending the night at the next stop? I'm getting pretty tired, but I know we're trying to save time and all." Ruby asked.

"Depends on when we get there. If we do we'll be leaving by sunrise at the latest. Settling down when it's already dawn would be pointless. If we arrive within the hour, we will. But I may not accompany you if there are locals."

"Why not?"

"I don't need to sleep, so we'd only be drawing attention if I was seen with you. Or at all for that matter. You can find a place to rest, and you'll find me in the morning."

"Ok. How will I do that?"

"Dust will guide you."

"Gotcha."

The duo strode down the winding path in a somewhat mutual silence. It didn't take long for them to hear the sounds of civilization up ahead of them. Ruby dismissed the sounds and put them in the back of her head, like white noise. She was thinking about how she'll find a place to sleep. A motel no doubt but she didn't know how she'd find one other than asking the locals, but she felt she'd be a bother.

Little red tried to think of another way, but her thoughts were interrupted as Despair suddenly charged forward. Jumping on the saddle slightly, Ruby looked at Death's back and saw that he was leaning forwards to streamline the incoming wind.

"Hey, what's the hurry?" She asked, confused as to what's happening.

"Something's not right."

The horseman raced forwards through the forest, showing no signs of slowing. Light crept from behind the threes until they turned a corner to see Galath up in flames.

The Grimm found their way to the small town just as they had Kuroyuri. The two rode to the entrance, the drop gate that had been protecting the locals was busted down. They rode into the town limits and saw nearly everyone in a state of panic. There were huntsmen present, and although they were doing their jobs well, they were outnumbered marginally. They would be snuffed out before the sun rises.

"Rose! Arm yourself!" Death nearly shouted to Ruby.

Despair suddenly vanished in a mass of green fire, forcing both riders to the ground. Ruby's footing wasn't able to catch her the same way Death's did. The reaper immediately reached for his scythes before taking off after the Grimm.

Ruby quickly grabbed Crescent Rose and threw her backpack next to a bush to get it out of harm's way. She was about to take off after a boarbatusk but saw a nevermore descending onto a man fleeing with his child in arms.

She changed Crescent Rose into a sniper and pelted the bird Grimm with as many rounds as she had to. She didn't need to go for the killing blow, just get it away from the citizens.

It crashed into a rooftop but didn't cause it to collapse. It recovered and flew towards the teen in mindless retaliation. Once it reached her, Ruby clipped one of its wings before it slammed into a wall behind her, killing it.

She saw Death was making quick work of most of the Grimm in the immediate vicinity, never taking a moment to rest from the slaughter.

"Rose, get the bystanders out of the way!" He yelled from across the campus.

She looked around and saw a kid staring at an alpha beowolf running towards him, frozen in fear. Ruby used her semblance to tackle the the kid out of the way, careful of not hurting him as she did so. She dealt a single swipe to the alpha's chest, sending it reeling back but not killing it.

She took the grace period to shoot a hole in the foundation of the closest house, making a hiding place for the kid to crawl under. As he crawled inside, the alpha dealt a slash to Ruby's back, causing her to fall to the ground.

She looked back up to see Death leap from around the corner onto the beowolf's back, followed up by decapitating it with one of his scythes. The sight brought back memories of Qrow from when Ruby was younger.

But she didn't have time to reminisce as she and the horseman both sprung to their next targets. Death to a gathering of boarbatusks and Ruby to a young couple getting surrounded.

Ruby shot behind her, propelling herself forwards. She landed on a beowolf, forcing it to the ground before she shot it in the head. She dismembered another's arm followed by its torso. She slammed the butt end of her scythe into one's throat. She hasn't used it much but she figured its sharp point would have its uses.

"Over here!" A huntsmen called out as he beckoned civilians into what looked like a semi-fortified pub.

"Get a move on. We've got everything handled out here." Little red told the two. The nodded before promptly sprinting to the makeshift safe haven.

The young huntress turned around, not about to let another town fall to ruin. Death was taking care of the beowolfs with ease, but didn't acknowledge the boarbatusk charging at him from behind.

Ruby intercepted it with her semblance and sent it stifling to the side. While she was still a few feet off the ground, she shot at it until it fell to its side, unable to get up. She rushed over and slammed her scythe into its soft belly.

She looked back to see that the executioner had already taken care of the rest of the Grimm. Leaving Galath in a state of tranquility, with the exception of the burning buildings. Ruby walked up to him, resting her scythe on her shoulder like an umbrella.

"Huh, guess we didn't have to-"

An alpha beringel had busted through the stone wall from which the duo entered. It bellowed a large roar as it stared down the huntsmen who weren't guarding the shelter.

"I had to start, didn't I?" Ruby rolled her eyes at herself.

The beringel swiped its arm at two huntsmen, sending them flying into walls, and slammed a fist onto another, leaving him in a crater.

With nothing else left to hit, it directed its attention to Death and Ruby. It brought both of its fists up and tried to bring them down onto the two. Ruby dashed to the side, and Death closer the the gorilla's chest.

As he exited the dodge Death kick-flipped into the air and engaged combat close to its face. Ruby embedded her scythe into the Grimm's hand, pinning it there.

It wailed as it could do little to attack or defend itself. It opened its mouth wide and tried to eat Death, but he kept its mouth pried open and slammed one of his scythes into the beringel's eyes.

It forced its hand out of crescent rose, leaving it torn but free. It slapped itself in the face, grabbing Death in it. It tossed the reaper away, but not before he could grab his scythe from its eye.

The beringel brought both of its fists up and began slamming them on the ground repeatedly. Ruby tried to dash out of the way but was caught underneath the blows. Slowly a crater was forming around her body as she was getting pummeled.

"No!" Death yelled.

He sprinted over as fast as he could, his body emanating a dark purple smoke.

 **A/N:**

 **Sorry for not posting, been busy, not dead etc. You know the drill.**

 **Anyways, give me some feedback and let me know what you guys want to see more of.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Days of Future Past

"Hey Oz… you think we should've pushed a bit harder to make her stay?" Qrow asked.

The two were sitting in the living room, tense. The remains of team JNPR, had already gone to bed, so Qrow and Ozpin only left a single light on. Casting shadows of the two and some furniture on the walls.

"In short, yes. We hardly know of 'Death'. From what I could tell, he may be who he says. But he could just as easily be a corpse of a man with a quick mind and sharp tongue." He replied, still not having relaxed in the slightest since he let the young rose out of his sight.

"Shit… I hope the kid is alright…"

* * *

Death was completely covered in the purple fog when he leapt forwards towards the beringel. It brought its hands back up over its head, not relenting on the huntress.

Before it could bring them down, its arms were dismembered at the elbows. It yelled in pain as its pair of stump arms began gushing blood. It caught a glimpse of a large purple hooded figure holding a hooked scythe. It slashed at the gorilla's mouth, leaving a large gash in its lower jaw. It stuppered back, but it the hooded figure brought its scythe down and through the Grimm, followed by a horizontal slash to its stomach. Gallons of blood spewed from the disemboweled innards, staining the now fresh corpse and the ground it stood on.

Ruby only managed to look up to witness the last attack and the gore as a result of it. She saw the hooded figure turn around to face her. The only name that could possibly be put to the thing she was staring at now was the Grim Reaper. And with it a gargantuan scythe, hooked on the end. The edges looked worn, but far from fragile. The beringel was proof it wasn't dull. Dozens of wailing skulls trapped in the blade, seeking freedom from their blood soaked prison.

The Reaper began to emeninate a purple smoke before it vanished, and in its place was the pale rider. Any sense of fear that may have been in the little rose was replaced with a sense of awe. Death approached her as the beringel's corpse and blood began to evaporate into a cloud of ash behind him.

"Are you alri-"

"Ohmygoshthatwasawesome! You just sliced off that thing's arms and spilled its guts like it was nothing! Howdidyoudothat? Wasthatyoursemblance? Ithoughtyouwcouldonlysummon, you didn't tell me you can transform!" Her mouth spat words like bullets.

"That's not important right now. Are you hurt?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Yeah I'm fine, it hurt but my aura protected me." She said a little _too_ nonchalantly.

The two looked around to see the place half in ruins. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it could've been a whole lot worse had they not been there. A huntsman was banging on the doors of the pub.

"Hey! They're gone. It's safe to come out now." He said through the doors.

The doors opened hesitantly, but once some people saw that it was safe and with no grim in sight, most of the people practically rushed out. Others seemed to take their time.

A group of people in yellow uniforms rushed out with hoses and began putting out the fires asap. They seemed to be in a hurry to do their job, but their expressions fell closer to relief than anything else.

An older figure walked out of the building with a long brown trench coat with a badge on it and examined the surroundings. He saw that most of the huntsmen who took the offensive were in bad shape but two figures seemed to have faired better than the rest. A young woman in a red cloak and a tall man with long greasy hair. He had been around long enough to tell these two did most of the heavy lifting.

He approached the two of them, gaining their attention. Though the man turned away from him, subtly trying to distance himself.

"You two. You did this didn't you?" He asked Ruby.

"H-huh?" Did he think they _let the Grimm in_?

"Cleared out the Grimm, that was you two wasn't it?"

"O-oh, right. Yeah we helped. But we were just doing what we should've, you guys were the real heroes here." She said, bashful of the praise.

"Nonsense! I didn't have to see what happened to know you two were this town's saving grace. Who are you two if you don't mind me asking? I'm Noah, commissioner of the police department." He said, extending his hand.

"I'm Ruby. I'm something of a huntress." She said trying to be humble.

"You look a little young for a huntress. Where'd you graduate from?"

"Well I haven't exactly graduated yet. I'm from Beacon…" her voice seemed to droop a bit with those last words.

"Oh. I'm sorry for what happened to you guys last year. But if it's any consolation, you can basically keep up with the pros if _this_ is anything to show for." He said as he gestured to the small town.

"Who's your friend?" Noah asked looking at Death.

"Oh, he's my…" Ruby's wits began to fail her.

"I'm her father." The pale man said his head slightly angling over his shoulder so he could see Noah.

"Well, you two seem to make quite the team. My son Shem is a huntsman but we aren't exactly a 'dynamic duo' the same you you two look to be."

"Thanks. We were just passing through and just so happened to be in the right place at the right time." She looked up to see the sky gradually getting lighter as the sun began to rise.

"Well I should grab my stuff and we'll be getting on our way." She said as she turned around and went to get her backpack she dropped off.

"Now, I can already tell you've seen more than your daughter has in terms of what this job has to offer." Noah said as he walked up to Death's side.

"But I think she's going to do _great_ things in this world."

"You don't have to tell me." The pale man replied, trying his best to sound natural.

"I didn't catch your name."

"Robin."

"Well Robin, I wish you and your kid the best of luck." Ruby jogged back up to her _father_ so they could get back on the road.

"Tread carefully, if you're not mindful out there, you're gonna find something you wish you hadn't. It's real easy for a person to not think with their heads when you're on these roads for a while. But something tells me you two will be just fine." Noah said as the duo began making their way to the south entrance.

* * *

Once they left Galath behind them, the two continued down the path for roughly two minutes before Despair rose from the earth. A phantom horse would be pretty hard to explain. The two got back on and continued due south.

"So are you gonna tell me what that was back there?" Ruby asked the rider.

"What was what?"

"That giant _reaper_ looking thing! That was awesome!" The rose exclaimed.

"It was a power I was granted when my siblings and I first became the four. Don't expect to see it often. I can only hold it for so long before I need to change back."

"Aww… that's lame."

"I _could_ use it permanently little one, but that would mean your world would soon meet its end." Death 'reassured'.

"I don't follow."

"It means the _true_ apocalypse is upon us."

"Uh, you know, I think I like this you more on second thought." She gave a nervous chuckle.

Death smirked underneath his mask. Giving the young woman a scare seemed somehow entertaining in a sense.

* * *

Jaune stared up at the ceiling in the of his room lost in thought. A lot had been on his mind these past couple of days, and last night only added to this. 'Is Ruby alright?' He thought to himself.

He turned in his bed and checked his charging scroll. No new messages. He had hoped that she'd have checked in by now but she apparently had different plans. 'That or she's dead'.

'What was I thinking! I just let her walk out with some _thing_ , and for all I know she could be dead. What do we even know about _Death_. He could just as easily be a spy for Salem as a _horseman of the apocalypse_. What am I thinking! He probably _is_ a spy for her. She doesn't stand a chance against him! I need to go after her.'

His thoughts were interrupted when he looked at his window. Soft hues of blue were showing through the curtains. Walking up to them and moving the curtains aside he could see the sky gradually illuminate as the sun was approaching daybreak. He had stayed up all night.

In Jaune's mind it only felt like two hours at most. He hardly even felt tired but his eyes almost felt as if they wanted sleep, even if he didn't. He shook his head and walked to his dresser.

'This just means you've got no time to waste.' He thought to himself as he got into his normal clothing and gear. He reached down to grab Corcea Mors, looking at the lining of his shield.

'Not again.'

Jaune walked out of his room and up to Nora's and Ren's. He knocked on the door but didn't wait for them to open it. He slowly pushed it open and peered inside. He saw his teammates were sleeping next to each other in a single bed. Ren positioned so that he slept with his head at the foot of the bed.

"Hey guys." Jaune said, almost in a whisper.

"Hn…" Ren moaned, confused and not even half awake.

"Try and get ready quickly. I think we should get moving soon."

"W-what? What time is it?" Ren replies rubbing his eyes trying to wake up.

"I think we should go after Ruby."

"Wait, what?" While still groggy, Jaune succeed in getting his friend's attention.

"What's happening?" Nora asked sitting up in the bed.

"Jaune that's-" Ren was cut off before he could question his friend.

"Just get ready soon. We're leaving in a bit."

Before either of his teammates could protest Jaune walked out of their room, closing the door behind him.

Jaune sat down in one of the chairs in the living room. Closing his eyes and rolling his head back he tried to get as much sleep as he could before his teammates got ready. He was starting to feel the effects of not sleeping last night.

"And what is the meaning of this, ?" A voice asked out of the silence, causing the blonde to jump slightly.

Opening his eyes Jaune saw Oscar, or rather Ozpin, sitting in another chair across from him with his cane at his side.

"We're…" Jaune wasn't sure if he wanted to lie or not. It's hard for him to get a read on the guy.

"We're going after Ruby."

"You and?"

"Ren and Nora."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? She could be in trouble. Big trouble! I don't know what I was thinking before, but I've made up my mind."

"I see. Do Ren and Nora feel the same?"

"Probably."

"Those aren't the same things."

"Do they have to be?" Jaune was getting irritated.

"Mr. Arc, as of now it is imperative that we are all not only on the same page but can agree without uncertainty that our next course of action is the right one. 'Probably' might just get us _all_ killed."

"Excuse me _sir_ , but I don't think this is the time for lessons."

"You're right. But that does not mean we can let impulse decide for us."

"So what do you recommend we do." Jaune said standing up from his seat.

"We can't just leave Ruby alone with that guy! What if he's a spy. What if he's not as good as he lets on. She could be in danger and if we don't get moving _right now,_ she'll be dead in no time."

"And you assume I _didn't think of that_? That I'm ignorant to the very real risks that are present in every move we make? If we leave now we _might_ save . We _might_ fail. And if we do, we _won't_ stand a chance against Salem. No one will. She _might_ not be in any danger at all. Death could be a spy. But if he isn't, at his side is the safest place she could be right now." Ozpin said in authoritative voice.

"She'd be safer if we were there." Jaune said quietly. Defeated.

"But we can't just do nothing. _I_ can't do nothing."

"Have you been in contact with her?"

"I've been waiting for Ruby to check in with us since she left, but she hasn't said anything."

"Then you can start there. Have her check in regularly. If anything comes up, take it up with me and I'll see what we can do."

"Alright…"

"Go tell your team that they can go back to sleep. It's five thirty in the morning." Ozpin said in a more lax manner.

* * *

By now the trees had thinned out from what was a densely packed forest, to more expansive grasslands with scattered trees. Though the path had disappeared but there was plenty of open space to offset that change. Light gray clouds created a seemingly never ending canopy that sat high above the green ground, keeping the climate cool and the sun out of one's eyes. And there was an ever so thin layer of fog that is unnoticeable up close but kept eyes from seeing anything that weren't large planes of small green grass or trees that sat atop them.

Ruby had her arms wrapped lazily around the pale rider. Leaning forwards the side of her face was pushed flush his back as the two pressed forwards on top of the flaming steed. She had fallen asleep nearly an hour ago. Not long after she and Death left Galath. Eventually the huntress found the once adrenaline fueling gallop of Despair, rather calming.

Death was silent with the hooves of the phantom horse and an occasional 'caw' from his guide above being the only sound to disturb the silence.

While his patience certainly wasn't lacking, he had too little on his mind to be comfortable. Being alone with nothing but the road ahead of him wasn't anything new, but the uninterrupted song of guilt was becoming all too familiar to his ears.

The nephilim are dead. Their souls lost, along with their bodies. The corruption had its champion's corpse. What was done could no longer be undone. And with them, the roots of sin were too deep in Death's heart to be pulled. His soul forever damned by his own hand.

It was times like these that the sense of remorse was so overwhelming that he couldn't help but tense up. His hands gripping the reins of his steed tightly and his feet pulling hard on the stirrups of the saddle.

Ruby stirred from her slumber. While she was tired enough to take a nap, horseback still wasn't the best place to rest up. She sat up more and brought one of her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes.

Once her eyes warmed up she looked at Death's back and noticed light purple imprint that vaguely resembled her face. She immediately felt a weight drop in her stomach realising she fell asleep on _the_ reaper. To make it worse she also saw a little…

Her hand instantly shot up to the sides of her mouth to find that they were wet with saliva. It was a good thing Death's eyes were glued forward, because if he turned around he would've found Ruby's face to be indistinguishable from her cloak. She tried to think about what she should do but that was wasting too much time. Ruby brought her right elbow to Death's back and began wiping away her drool with her sleeve.

"Uh, hehe… sorry about that." She said nervously.

"What?" Death asked, confused.

"Oh uh, I just… fell asleep…" she said sheepishly.

"And your apologizing why?" The executioner asked with a slight chuckle to his voice.

"S-sorry. Wait, no! You heard nothing, I didn't mean-" she said flustered, but stopped herself when she heard Death laughing.

It wasn't hearty, but coming from him it felt surreal. The thought that the reaper found her stampering amusing in any form wouldn't have never crossed her mind. She never liked being laughed at, but having it come from someone almost out of a fairy tale felt endearing for lack of a better term. If only she could say the same about Salem.

"I forgot to say thank you for having my back there in Galath." She said lightening up.

"It was nothing."

"No, really you were awesome! I know that kind of stuff might be 'whatever' for you… but I thought it was really cool." Ruby said, with Death responding with a bashful grunt.

"..."

"..."

"Hey Death?"

"Hn?"

"Do you think you can teach me how to fight like you?" The question caught the horseman off guard.

"I-"

"You don't have to if you don't want to. I know you probably think I'm annoying, but I think I can-" it was his turn to interrupt her.

"I'd be happy to."

"Come again?" Ruby said dumbfounded.

"Had you been a human from _my_ time, the answer would've been different. But you and your friends are something else entirely. You have what it takes. Rose. Not many people do. To put it simply, to let that potential go to waste would be foolish."

"So you'll do it?" She asked, her excitement overflowing.

"Yes."

"Yaaaaaahooooo!" She cried out to the sky, arms shooting up in triumph.

"Ahem. Sorry about that, I'm just really gitty about these kind of things. And I know I don't know what it is you do all that much, but your just so _cool!_ "

'Don't listen to her you fool! You'll go soft. The moment you go soft you die.' The reaper thought to himself.

"Most would find the training grueling, so why am I getting the impression you'll find it more entertaining than anything else?"

"Hehe, yeah." Ruby rubbed the back of her head.

"I usually have the most fun when I'm fighting Grimm, or other huntsmen. My friends say it's weird."

"I call it necessary."

Ruby's eyes and smile widened. For just a few moments she completely forgot what they were doing. While being something small, having been complimented for something she's been worried about for years reminded her of something. She forgot all about Salem and the relics and how she had to leave her friends and family behind to save the world.

For just a few moments she felt like she was back in Beacon. When she didn't have to worry about anything other than school assignments. The only crime fighting and facing the forces of Grimm were a convenience to her everyday life.

Where she felt like she could jump off the horse and walk into her dorm room where her friends would be. Where Weiss Blake and Yang would all be waiting for her so they could get to classes so they can have fun sparring and the only thing to dread would be a test she didn't study for.

She forgot what it felt like. What it felt like to be a normal kid. A normal girl with normal knees. She was doing what she always wanted to. But not in the way she wanted it. She would give up all her tomorrows if it meant she could be given back all her yesterdays. All the more reason to finish off Salem.

The sooner they could do that, the sooner she can get those days back. If only she could get them back with Pyrrha. With Penny.

"Thank you." She said contentedly.

"What for?"

"Oh nothing."

 **A/N:**

 **I tried a different spacing for between dialogue exchanges to make it less confusing as to who's talking. But I think it inflates the page too much so let me know if oyu guys like this style of the kind I've used these past few chapters. It might not even make a difference because the fanfiction docs structure is weird.**

 **I wasted way too much time these past few months. It's summer and I've been managing to slack off on doing something I want to do.**

 **These past couple of weeks, I've been replying Darksiders 2. I'm trying to get every achievement and complete just about everything. This past save file over poured a good 30 hrs in. And through out the entire time I was thinking about this story and how trash I'm being procrastinating.**

 **But earlier this week I introduced RWBY to my dad after having been a fan for four years. I'm rewatching everything with him and we just started volume 3 last night.**

 **It took me rewatching the world Monty created and be the way** _ **he**_ **wanted it be.** _ **The way it's supposed to be**_ **. My love for Darksiders was there but the essence of RWBY was missing. Now I think I can really put my imagination to work.**

 **I can't promise I'll be more active per-say. But I promise you that I will finish this and give you all something I think rooster teeth forgot.**

 **Death will be our savior.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: When You Gaze Into the Abyss

 _Ruby are you alright? I know it's only been a few hours but we're all worried about you. I might be overreacting but I don't exactly trust Death a whole lot. We hardly know the guy. Please text back. Checking in really helps ease things over here._

Jaune looked down at his scroll with the message ready to send. He was trying to remember if there was anything else he wanted to mention but he thought that just about summed it up.

 _Stay safe._

He added. Before he could hit send, he was pounded by a suffocating force. His legs buckled and he fell to his side. It was quickly getting hard to breathe. He reached up to his throat hoping that would somehow help. It kept going for a few more seconds and Jaune felt conscience rapidly leaving him. And then, it left as quickly as it came. Jaune got back to his feet, and while his legs were weak, he managed to stay awake throughout the 'wave'. He picked his scroll back up from the ground and saw that he hadn't sent it yet.

 _P.S Not that I want to rush you, but try and get back soon. That force that hit us before just sent out another one. I think it was longer than the last one. If we don't get to the bottom of this soon there might be serious damage._

He hit the send button before rushing out of his room. He found Ren and Nora sitting outside of the training room overlooking the cliff. Nora was holding her head while leaning on Ren.

"Are you guys alright?" Jaune asked his friends.

"Yeah we're-"

"That Demon _jerk_ is giving me a headache!" Nora said, causing Jaune to chuckle, albeit a small one.

"Never change Nora." Jaune said with relief in his voice.

* * *

"Rose what exactly _is_ a 'huntress'?" The pale rider asked.

"Why you asking?"

"Back in Galath, the commissioner said you were one. And the academy we left was a training ground for them as well if I'm not mistaken. I know you're warriors, but there's more to it than that isn't there?"

"Well uh, we're trained to specifically fight Grimm. We start training at around thirteen and graduate at twenty if we choose it as our career. I didn't graduate, so I can't say for sure, but I imagine it's a lot of community work in areas that most people aren't equipped for when it comes to fighting. So things like escorts, town defense, law enforcement, and search and destroy missions." She explained.

"You didn't finish, why? You hardly seem incapable."

"Well. It's not that I _didn't want_ to. But the school I went to, Beacon," Death remembered her mentioning that back with Shem "was attacked by… well there isn't really a name for them. A terrorist group called the 'White Fang' helped set a bunch of grim loose, but some other people organized everything by the looks of it. We're pretty sure the lady that lead them, Cinder, is working with Salem. That's what brought us to Haven, and you know the rest"

"I see. You started your training young,"

"Yup."

"And it was cut short by means beyond your control."

"You got it…" Ruby said gloomly. Hearing him say it didn't make her feel any better.

"Heh… If it's any consolation, I can promise what I teach you will be better than anything they can." He said in a proud manner.

"That sounds… _splendid_." Ruby said trying to channel Penny's vocabulary. It was the least she could do.

Dust cawed from in front the duo, getting their attention. Death squinted his eyes as he looked ahead, Ruby leaning to her right to peer around the reaper. The fog had gotten thicker, and while not dense, they could only see about a tenth of a mile ahead of them. They were quickly approaching a large cliff. Despair slowed to a trot as they got closer, stopping a few feet from the ledge, blowing air out of his nose as he did so.

Death looked to the left and found nothing but flat grasslands and fog, and it was the same story when he turned to his right. Looking forward he could see roughly five hundred feet ahead was another side. It wasn't just a cliff, it was a canyon.

"Dust! Take us the fastest way to the maiden." He commanded of the crow.

Dust flew in front of the two before descending down into the ravine. He flew in a circle as he signaled Death and Ruby to follow. Looking down the cliff, the bottom was shrouded in pitch black, making it look like a bottomless pit. But as Dust would have it, it was the 'fastest' path.

Death wrapped his arm around Ruby's waist. She was confused before Despair combusted into green flames. He set her down on her feet. If he hadn't she would've fallen on her butt.

"Thanks." She said. Death only replied with a grunt. He usually had a reply for whatever he'd hear from the people he faced, but politeness wasn't common where he rode. "So what are we doing exactly?" Ruby asked.

"We're going down and across."

"Down, as in, 'into the dark void', down?"

"Is there any other kind?"

"No, that just kinda seems… spooky. Y'know?"

"No. I don't."

Ruby walked over to the ledge and looked down. She felt a cool breeze that sent chills down her back.

"We can either jump down, or scale the wall. Your pick." Death offered her a choice. Ruby found looking back down didn't make her decision easier.

"Uh… climb. Yeah, climb. That sounds, less… _hazardous_." She said that last word with a tone of reluctance.

Ruby felt a vibration in her pocket. Knowing it was her scroll, she pulled it out and extended it to see what it was. Jaune had sent her a message.

"What is it?" Death asked looking back at Ruby.

"It's Jaune. He says he's worried about me, _and that he doesn't trust you_ , but he's just being protective. He also says that another one of those strong _things_ that you said might be demonic hit them again. He thinks it's getting worse."

"Then there's no time to waste."

"Right, Just give me a second to reply and let him know I'm alright." She requested.

 _I'm fine Jaune. We've made good progress and we'll try to get back asap. I'll try to keep in touch. See you soon._

"Are you ready?" the reaper asked red. She responded with a nod of her head.

In one swift motion, Death flung himself over the cliff and gripped onto the ledge. Ruby brought out Crescent Rose in 'her' scythe form and dug it into the side of the cliff before swinging herself over as well. And like that they began their descent into the abyss.

* * *

 **Taking fate into your own hands again, I see. Never taking a moment to stop and enjoy life. Truly a paragon for us all now aren't you.**

 _What is it now?_

 **Why ask at all? You already know the answer, don't you?**

 _It's the horseman if I'm not mistaken._

 **Indeed. In this…** _ **alien**_ **, world… I find his unwavering tenacity… endearing. Although, that is to be expected.**

 _A determined one he is. Surviving what he did should not be possible. And yet, here he is._

 **Intriguing, wouldn't you say?**

 _I don't._

 **You** _ **can't.**_

 _Like you said. Why ask?_

 **What? Do you not enjoy our little conversations? I can't imagine you have better things to do.**

 _Mayhaps. But we've had this conversation countless times before._

 **Don't worry. You can find comfort in knowing that this time may very well be our last.**

 _And why might that be?_

 **Guess.**

* * *

Death jumped from his position on the wall to the bottom of the ravine. With a splash he found that there was a small stream of water flowing from one end of the crevice to the other. He and Ruby had climbed down most of the way, but he jumped the last thirty feet. Ruby had opted to climb a little further, jumping at the last ten feet of the climb.

The huntress put her scythe back into resting position as she looked back up to the top of the cliff. It was much easier to see the top from the bottom than the inverse, but she wasn't looking forward to the climb back up. She had no idea how far down they were, but she knew it wasn't going to be an easy climb.

'If only Weiss was here' she thought to herself.

"See what you can find." as Death said that, Dust flashed green and flew in the direction of the other wall.

The two started following the crow in silence as it illuminated the immediate area. Ruby was somewhat unsettled by the dark atmosphere the cave offered. She knew the worst they could encounter are some grimm, but the fear of the dark is something that never really goes away regardless of rational. To an extent she enjoyed it. It's been a while since she could be scared for a silly reason. Nowadays she has to worry about holding the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Death was indifferent by the environment. Fear wasn't something he found himself at the feet of, and a cave wasn't going to be an exception anytime soon.

"Let's hurry up and get out of here. This place makes me uncomfortable." Ruby requested.

"This shouldn't take long."

Ruby began imagining scenarios that might have lead her to a place like this had Beacon repelled the attack. Maybe a search and rescue mission where a nice family lost their kid who was playing in the forest. She and her friends might come across this place and go looking for him there. She and Weiss would search downstream while Yang and Blake looked upstream.

Mabey she would try and spook the heiress after telling her a scary story she'd make up on the spot. She'd get Weiss to jump, laughing in response. Weiss would be on her case for the rest of the mission until at least that night where'd they all go to bed. She and her friend would then find a pack of creeps attacking the kid who was trying to climb back up the wall to the top. She and Weiss would save him after-

Ruby's thoughts were interrupted by a caw from Dust. The ground shaking beneath her. Looking ahead to Death she saw that he too was beginning to lose balance. The ground beneath them was beginning to sink downwards. Ruby quickly tried to run back to a more stable area, but in doing so she pushed her foot into the ground causing the rock floor beneath her to give away.

The huntress and the horseman began falling further into another part of the canyon. Death tried to death grip Ruby to him but the purple hand was knocked out of the way by a falling rock. Ruby got some footing on a piece of falling debris and pushed herself off of it. She used her semblance to get some distance back up to the rocky ceiling. She did the same when finding another rock to jump off of, but this time she lost her footing.

She began falling for a second time, this time have been hit in the head by a stone. Plummeting down she hit the ground at an angle, sending her flying off center. She tried desperately to stop herself, but with the world spinning and hardly being able to see anything already she just kept hitting the ground.

Eventually she was able to skid to a halt while laying on her side. It was a rough landing but she was able to stop. And it wasn't from a lack of trying. Coughing a few times and sitting up from her position on the ground, she looked around her new surroundings. It was pitch black, so her first instinct was to reach for her scroll. She pulled out the device and turned on its flashlight. It was a miracle it wasn't broken.

Looking around again she saw she was in a large cave. The hole she and Death fell in was nowhere to be seen. The ground was at a steep slant and it had a sandy texture. Looking up the hill of sorts, she could see imprints on the ground leading to the top. There was one that stopped where she was sitting. Checking the other direction she saw the decline continued down the cavern for quite some ways. That half had no imprints.

Guessing that the marks in the ground were from her falling, she looked back to the top and saw that she fell a _long_ way.

"Well…" Ruby said as she began standing up "that could've gone smoother. Death!" she yelled cupping her hands around her mouth. The cave carried her voice upwards, hopefully loud enough for the horseman to hear her. She was willing to bet he landed better than she did.

"Behind you." Ruby jumped at the voice.

She immediately turned around, Crescent Rose at the ready and her scroll falling to the ground. She saw Death looking at her with the same expression he always had. Whatever _that_ was.

"How did you get here so fast?" She asked, confused.

"Does it matter?"

"No, but you scared me." Ruby said, he sighed as a reply.

"It's easy to slide down this hill. You didn't notice when you were looking around."

"Oh, gotcha." She said, feeling stupid.

Ruby put Crescent Rose on her lower back again and bent down to pick her scroll up.

"Should we start heading back up?" She said looking back up with her flashlight.

"No. There's a faster route heading further down."

"R-really? How do you know?"

"Dust."

"Alright now don't get me wrong, I trust you, but I think that bird of yours doesn't seem to be all that smart if he keeps sending us on weird paths like this." She said turning her body to face back down the hill.

"You're not the only one." He said as the two began walking down.

"Where is he by the way?"

"He flew on ah- agh!" Death cut himself off as Ruby shone her light at his face. He brought his hand up to shield his eyes. "Point that somewhere else."

"Oh! Sorry…" She said, immediately pointing the light back down the path.

"It's fine, just don't do it again. As I was saying, he flew ahead and didn't come back. Seeing as how it's a straight shot as of now, I don't think it's necessary to call him back." he explained.

"Alright."

The walk down was awkward, or at least that's how Ruby felt. If the rest of the canyon didn't already give her the creeps, it sure was now. Looking behind her she saw that it was completely dark. They've only been walking for a few minutes and she felt as though she'd already walked a mile from where they started. The marks on the ground she made weren't much but she was quickly realizing just how much they felt like familiar ground by comparison to now.

Everything around them looked the same. It gave her this weird sense that they were both making no progress, but a lot at the same time. She was severed from all ties of familiarity aside from Death, but at the same time it looks as though they were in the same place they had been since they started. She didn't like it.

A few more minutes go by before anything else happens. Ruby felt like she was getting more comfortable, but seeing as how she wasn't in any sense of the word earlier, that wasn't saying much.

She heard something up ahead. Getting ready to grab her scythe, she waited to make sure she wasn't just hearing things. A few seconds go by and she hears it again. She pulled out her weapon, this time in its sniper form.

"Calm down. They're only bats." Death said, telling that Ruby was unnerved.

Quickly after he said that, a cloud of bats flew towards the two but kept to the ceiling of the cave. Ruby watching as they flew by. She thought they were creepy looking in large groups, but was eased knowing they weren't anything that was going to kill her.

"Let's not waste our time gawking." Death said.

"R-right."

They continued walking for another ten or so minutes. Ruby began to think they weren't going to encounter any grimm at all, which was certainly a relief. While she wasn't 'terrified' she was a lot more scared than she usually was, so she expected any grimm in the vicinity to jump her as soon as she fell through that hole. If there weren't any on her at this point, she didn't have to worry.

By now the steep incline they were going down had disappeared, the ground leveling out a ways back. The walls that were once a spacious road were beginning to shrink into a more narrow crevice.

Looking ahead on the ground Ruby saw something dark. As She and Death got closer they saw that it was dried blood. She immediately began to feel uneasy again. Looking back up ahead she saw a small pack of bats that were scattered along the path, all with blood splotches nearby.

"This doesn't look good…" Ruby said. "Should we turn around?"

"We're already this far aren't we?" the horseman insisted.

"Alright…"

The two pressed forward, the path getting small enough so they couldn't walk side by side anymore. Ruby took the front while Death stayed close behind. Ruby did her best to try and not to step on any dead bats.

She pushed forward just a little bit more to find that the cave opened back up to be large and spacious again. Small patches of blood filled the entire room. After walking forward a bit she saw that the flashlight on her phone was able to reach the end of the tunnel. It was a dead end.

She walked a little forward and saw a larger pool of blood at the end, and a larger cadaver. She dared to get closer, but she didn't have to go far. Looking at the body she realized it was a pair of human skeletons. Bones old and flesh long gone. There wasn't much left to rot.

Ruby was beginning to panic as she felt her stomach drop. They weren't the first ones here. Whatever happened to the people that were first, assuming they _were_ first, ended with their lives cut short in a messy way.

"Death, I want to turn ar- ah!" Before Ruby could finish the horseman tackled her to the ground.

He placed his knees on her upper thighs and pinned her arms on the ground next to her head, her scroll falling far from her. Ruby struggled to push him off of her, but he wouldn't budge.

"Death! What are you-" She stopped herself.

Death was hyperventilating as he arched over Ruby his face getting close to hers, his hair touching her cheeks. She could see that his eyes were wide as he stared at her.

"Get off me!"

Death began making gagging sounds. They were getting faster and with them Ruby's heart rate. At this point she was seething terror. She tried headbutting Death but he didn't let up. His jaw unhinged from behind his mask and Ruby watched in horror as it extended beyond his collar bones.

The bottom of his mask now looked like a dull row of teeth, while his lower jaw was lined with short jagged teeth. His entire jaw was almost big enough to wrap around her entire abdomen, and it was inches away from face.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" She screamed, her pupils shrinking as it inched closer.

She watched as his jaw snapped down to clamp around her head, and in that moment she finally knew what everyone meant when they say their lives flashed before their eyes. It was a weight dropping in her stomach, that was so fast a blink felt long by comparison. In that moment she wasn't thinking 'my aura will protect me, I'll make it through this'. She was remembering every person she's ever met, every injury she's had, every joke she's ever told or heard and everything she had to look forward to and realize they'd be stripped gone in an instant.

It would have been an awful way to go out.

Death's neck was relieved from the weight of his head just a moment before his teeth connected. Blood spewed from his neck as his body fell limp onto Ruby. She immediately scampered away from the dead body and tired to look at what saved her. She tried looking up but her face was soaked in blood and she had to wipe it away.

She quickly wiped her palm from one side of her face to the other in an attempt to clear her vision. Looking over the body of the headless horseman, she saw none other than Death looking down at her with glowing orange eyes. He was panting and had a scythe in each hand, both stained with a fresh coat of red.

"Rose are y-"

Before he could say anymore Ruby used her semblance and zipped up to him instant, her arms wrapped around him.

"Thank you."

Normally she wouldn't even want to touch Death out of fear he'd be annoyed. But she wasn't thinking straight. She was just glad to be alive. It took a few seconds for her to realize what just happened.

She backed away from Death and looked back down at the one that was on top of her. His body completely different from what it was before. It was long and lanky. Fur lined the forearms and shins. White bones lead up the spine and to the neck. Looking beyond that she saw a head that looked like a deer's skull, with bony white antlers and face. The mouth still extended and looked like it had before. It was a grimm. A shape shifting grimm.

"Death that thing, it… it looked like you and it lured me back here- where were you this whole time!" She asked loudly, but her words held no anger.

"Same story as you. One of those things disguised itself as you and tried to pounce me. I dealt with it and went after you as fast as I could." He explained.

"Wait, how do I know it's you?" She asked, Death sighed as a response.

He threw his hand in the direction of Ruby's fallen scroll, a glowing purple hand shooting forward to grab it. It returned back to him with her scroll in his hands. He extended his arm to Ruby who looked at it, a weight lifting in her stomach. She took it from him with a smile on her face.

"Let's get out of here before anymore of those things get here." Ruby said.

Without needing to say anything, Dust appeared over Death's head with a flash of green and began flying opposite of the entrance. The green glow managed to fill the cave with enough light for them to see, but Ruby kept her scroll out just in case. Ruby followed the crow with eager eyes, not wanting to spend another moment in this cavern. Dust flew above the pair of human bones and to the ceiling of the cave, cawing as he reached it.

It took the huntress a couple of seconds to figure out what the bird was trying to say, but once she did she drew Crescent Rose in her sniper form. She shot at the ceiling Dust was circling, blasting through a small layer of rocks to reveal an exit.

She and Death approached it, Death stopping in front of the skeletons on the ground.

"Their souls have long since passed." He said before grabbing both of their skulls.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked, confused.

"If they had family, they should know what happened to them. I hope this will help."

"They will. We can probably get their skulls to a hospital or something and they can check their dental records to find out who they ar... were." Ruby confirmed.

"Good, now then." He walked over to the young rose. "Climb on." He said kneeling with his back turned to her.

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted to get out of here fast. Letting me carry you would be best."

"A-alright." Ruby reluctantly got onto Death, her arms wrapping around his neck. "And you're okay with me-"

She was cut off as Death began scaling the wall up to the hole she made, not taking long to get up there. Although she couldn't see anything, she felt a cool breeze flowing down onto her face, albeit subtle. She rested easy knowing that it lead to an exit. She never should have doubted Dust.

* * *

 _You weren't wrong about the horseman. He really is a paragon of sorts._

 **If you think that's impressive… I can't wait until you see what comes next.**

 _Oh I am well aware of what he is capable of. It's the child that impresses me. I would have never imagined she'd find him comforting. Granted, anyone would be if I was her._

 **Always trying to see the bigger picture you are. And why is it you find such things… worth while.**

 _Oh, you'll just have to wait to see what comes next._

 **Heh…**

* * *

Death threw his hands over the ledge and pulled himself and Ruby over and onto stable ground. The tunnel that Ruby made lead straight out of the cave and to the bottom of the canyon on the other side. The reaper carried the huntress back up to the top of the other cliff. Ruby rubbed her face and was pleased to find that the blood from that grimm had dissolved with the rest of its body. Having arrived there, Death didn't miss a beat on continuing their journey as he summoned Despair so they could depart yet again.

"Ready?" He asked her.

"You know it." She said confidently.

Death helped her onto Despair before he did so himself. He snapped the reigns and the phantom horse charged forward. Ruby's hands immediately wrapped around Death's lower back again. She had already forgotten how strong of an animal the mount was. With that the two left what was found in the abyss to stay there until the end of days.

 **A/N:**

 **I started writing this chapter the day after I posted the last one and wrote most of it in three good sittings. Not to say that this should become expected of me, but I think this goes to show how Monty has got me juiced to come back to this.**

 **If it's not obvious, I've never written something scary, so this might've come off as silly or dumb for some of you, but I though it was a cool idea that I didn't want to go to waste. I can't expect any of you to say you found this chapter 'chilling' in any way, but I thought I'd give it a shot.**


End file.
